Adapting to Modern Times
by Lurking Pheonix
Summary: Atlantis, after being rediscovered by the modern world, is given two orders by her boss; make alliances and don't get on anyone's bad side. Not everyone is interested in forming an alliance. (Or being on friendly terms, at least.) She learns interesting things about today's cultures. Too bad being out of touch with the modern world gets her into nothing but trouble. Country Oc.
1. Operation Troll Face Trollers

**So I have finally decided to make a fanfic. I wanted to post something because all I do on this site is fave everything I like. The story "Partisanship" by GoesKaboom gave me an idea for my story. "****Defying Gravity" by ****SailorXPrincessXHalloween** **has inspired ****me to finally post the Ideas I had floating around my head. :) Please read the author notes at the end of the story as well. It reveals where I received the inspiration and ideas from, and I thought it might be interesting. The story is rated M for language chapters. :) **

**I don't own Hetalia. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

Atlantis power walks past tourists taking snapshots of historical monuments on the street. Her golden eyes shifting left and right, looking past the strange looks people gives her as she's walking by. Her white and gold trimmed robes glistens as she plays with her long, dark blue hair. The golden wave designs on her robes gave an illusion of real shifting waves when she walks across the streets.

Her country, Atlantis, had been isolated for centuries. It used to be known as the most technological advanced country in the world. But, ever since the multiple disasters that struck Atlantis (earthquakes, tsunamis, wars, et cetera); it sunk to the very bottom of the ocean. Luckily, her magic, as well as others', had kept the civilization, and its citizens, from drowning. Now, only the countries' bosses and the country personifications themselves know that her country is real. The last time Atlantis went outside her city -before it was rediscovered by Italy- pirates roamed the seas.

_"Those were some very fun times"_ she thinks with a Cheshire grin.

The world meeting in America had just ended -a pain in the ass in her opinion. The worst part: the same meeting is being rescheduled to next week. Germany felt there wasn't enough progress in the meeting, (Too many fights broke out this time) so, he called the meeting to an abrupt end. She was having a very nice chat with Hungary a few minutes after the meeting. She was reminding her about the girls only slumber party at her suite tonight. She gladly told Hungary she would be there tonight. They separated, and Atlantis left for the library she knew was nearby.

Atlantis wants to play a game called Black Ops II. She smiles as she recalls fond memories of harassing the Atlantian spy, Zale, to teach her how to play video games in general. The last game he taught her how to play was Black Ops, which was three days ago. But sadly, that lesson only lasted ten minutes before he had to run off for some information gathering mission, and she had to go to the World Conference meeting in America.

Atlantis bristly walks into the library, focused on her self-assigned 'mission.' The library's newly refurbished book returns desks shines like newly polished wood. The rest of the room itself seems to lack in care. The computers appear to be a few years outdated compared to the new computers in the stores. The book cases have scratches and random initials carved in it. The sky blue wallpaper peels off more as a boy obnoxiously peels off the rips in it. Atlantis walks up to the books return desk, putting on the best smile she could. The slouched librarian at the desk glanced from the computer to Atlantis, munching on some chocolate. Swallowing the chocolate, the librarian broadly asks, "How can I help you, miss?"

"I would like to know the location of the new video game room, please." Atlantis says, eyeing the chocolate bar in the librarian's hand.

The librarian, raising an eyebrow at her formal speech, points behind him and says, "It's back there. You do know that room is only for eleven to seventeen year olds, right?"

Ignoring the last part, the dark blue haired girl walks around the desk toward the back of the library. She walks past bookcases with some strange homeless people on the way, blabbing about an upcoming zombie apocalypse. "_And I thought the homeless people back home were fucking weird when they smack each other with spoiled fish"_ she thought to herself.

Hidden by some bookcases, she finds the video game room she was looking for. Grinning, she was about to walk into the room when she notices a sign. She frowns a bit. "_I'll just have to fix that."_ She thinks with a mischievous grin. Ripping the sign off, she flips it to the back and writes "_Only 18+."_ Atlantis adds a winking smiley face under it. She strolls into the room and barricades the poorly lit room with boxes.

Sitting down in front of the Playstation, she inserts the Blacks Ops game she borrowed from Zale. She puts on her headset, loads the game, and prepares to play. Atlantis knows that even though she doesn't know how to play the game very well, since she's still a beginner, it'll still be fun playing against other people on Wi-Fi.

* * *

The so called _men _Atlantis played against were sexist bastards. Every single fucking time the guys she met heard her voice, they either tell her to go back to the kitchen to make them a fucking sandwich, or, try to flirt with her, nonstop. The most disgusting and revolting pickup lines known to man were used in these encounters. Those pick up lines can't ever be erased from her mind. One of them even had the nerve to ask for some nude pictures of her! She screamed at him something like porn being invented for losers like him.

_"These animals act as though they have never heard a woman before!"_ Atlantis thinks bitterly. Sure, there were some guys that didn't care about her gender, but thinking about those other guys put her into a foul mood again. They mocked her skills saying, "Girls suck at video games."

Focusing her attention back on the screen, she continued to play. She is determined to not let those sexist bastards ruin her gaming time. Using the controller, she moves to hide inside a building, and then she is shot dead.

"Ha ha ha! The hero always wins!" a player loudly declares on the headset.

Atlantis froze. "_It couldn't be..,"_ Atlantis quickly asks, "Is that you Amer-" she is cut off by the player's voice.

"You have a high pitch voice, dude! You know, you could be mistaken for a girl!"

"I'm female."

"oh…"

"America, it's me, Atlantis."

"Aren't ya a little too uptight for this game?"

"It's on, douchebag!"

After many humiliating deaths in the game, Atlantis sits slouching, glaring at the TV screen. She was grumbling about America's hardcore skills. He was able to get give her a headshot…...as he was free-falling from a building. She was still wondering how that was even possible. She was also thinking how huge of a coincidence it was to meet America, of all people, on Wi-Fi. Of the billions of people playing, it should have been impossible to fight against him! This shouldn't have happened.

Suddenly, the door is burst open. The barricade crumbles from the sheer force of the door. The boxes abruptly fall to the sides. The numerous books inside them scatter across the floor. Light quickly engulfs the dark room. Atlantis hisses at the horrible, painful light blinding her golden eyes. She pathetically attempts to cover her eyes from the light.

A tall man in his early twenties with unruly short, black hair storms into the room with a fierce expression. His dark blue and black military uniform shuffling harshly with each step.

"Is this where you have been for the past seven hours, Master Atlantis!? You were supposed to return to the hotel five hours ago! I had to run everywhere looking for you!" the man seethes with anger. He stops to stare at Atlantis' face. She has dark bags under her eyes. The red veins around her eyes emphasize the irrational and animal look on her face. Her scowl appears as if she will murder him if he even thinks of trying to remove her from this room.

Rubbing his eyes in irritation, he bluntly says, "Master Atlantis, I'm here to escort you back to your hotel room. Please take my hand." He holds his hand out to her as he finishes talking. Atlantis just stares at it. She seems lost in her thoughts for a little, then, she grabs his hold and allows him to pull her up. She stumbles a bit, her legs crying from pain from sitting crossed legged for hours on end, and nearly crashes into him. The man holds her arms to steady her as she regains feeling in her legs.

"Thanks, Zale. Escort me back to my hotel room, please." says Atlantis when she is able to stand by herself. "By the way, we are dropping by this lovely store I passed by on my way here. I require a special item from there." Zale raises an eyebrow at this. Ignoring his look, she walks past him and exits the room. Zale quickly follows after her.

As they both exit, a couple is off by the side staring after them for a few moments. The couple glances at the sign, back to the Atlantians, and back to the sign again. The boyfriend grins and wraps an arm around his girlfriend's waist. With a perverted grin, the boyfriend remarks, "I want to get it on in a library, too. I don't know many people who can say they did it in there."

The drive back to the hotel is silent. The night is dark with only the street lamps for a source of light. Teenagers prowl the night, laughing, in their groups. When the car stops at a red light, Zale clenches the steering wheel for a moment. He pauses and looks behind him at Atlantis. Her face is blank of emotions as she stares out the windows. The hand lightly supporting her face twitches now and then. Zale assumes that Atlantis is thinking very hard about something. Focusing his attention back to the front, he quickly shakes his head.

_"I know I don't want to know what she's plotting this time." _Zale thinks with slight shivers tingling down his spine. He remembers the last time he disturbed her when she was brainstorming. It is the only time he sees her actually reveal her furry. The light turns green and Zale drives on toward their destination.

* * *

Atlantis stands in front of hotel room 205 in her black night robe clutching her Twinkie-shaped pillow and her blue, crystal necklace in her other hand. The Atlantian lets go of her hold on her necklace and softly knocks on the door. She hears a "Coming!" and some shuffling. The door opens and there stands Hungary in her brown and green pajamas. The Hungarian's eyes brighten at her presence. Atlantis is suddenly pulled into a tight hug. "You're here! I thought something horrible happened to you when I noticed you weren't in your room." Hungary exclaims. The dark blue haired woman awkwardly returns the hug. She still couldn't get use to getting hugs from people. "Please come inside. Everyone is inside waiting for you."

Atlantis, feeling a little embarrassed about being late, apologizes. "My apologies, I should have arrived sooner." She follows Hungary inside the room. Once inside, she spots Ukraine, Belarus, and Liechtenstein in their pajamas sitting on a beautiful gold rug in a circle. Seeing the Hungarian taking a spot next to Liechtenstein, Atlantis follows her lead and takes a seat next to Ukraine. "I like your pillow, Atlantis" Liechtenstein kindly smiles. "Thank you, Liechtenstein," replies Atlantis with a sincere smile.

"I want to find big brother!" huffs Belarus as she glares in front of her. Since Atlantis was sitting in front of her, she felt the coldness of the glare. She shudders from it. She had never felt so intimidated by another person like Belarus-and Russia-, but mostly Belarus. Just seeing that murderous look in her eyes made her want to escape from the room. But she puts on a poker face and pretends Belarus' glare doesn't bother her.

Hungary perks up in the slightly awkward silence. "So Atlantis, what took you so long in the library?" Atlantis meets Hungary's eyes and her eyes widen a little. She quickly schemes in her mind her plan. She knows she needs some 'Allies' for help succeeding in her plan. Hopefully, if she plays her cards right, (and some luck) she could be able to recruit them. Ending her calculating thoughts, she smiles.

Shifting a little in her spot, the Atlantian says, "Oh, I was playing Black Ops two in the library. I borrowed the game from a friend and I wanted to play it in the library, since, I don't own a Play Station 3 at home." She watches everyone's reaction. She notices Hungary's look of shame on her face. Ukraine asks with concern in her voice, "You've spent several hours playing Black Ops?"

Atlantis swiftly lies with the smile still on her face, "Of course not. I've only played for an hour. I went to the mall first. I found this cute pillow there." She holds up her Twinkie pillow for everyone to see and gives it a small squeeze. Actually, she bought the pillow at the mall two days ago, but they didn't need to know that 'small' detail. It's not like they were ever going to ask this same question again. It's a good thing she used her Atlantian eye drops to get rid of the red veins in her eyes. They wouldn't believe her with those red eyes. She is confident they were not going to find out. "I was just wondering this, but, do you play Black Ops, Hungary?"

Hungary blushes a little at this question. "Yes. I caught Prussia in one of the guest bedrooms in Austria's house playing Black Ops; he had fallen asleep playing the game. I was a little curious about the game and decided to play it. I became a little addicted to it ever since." Hungary looks a little sheepish at her confession. "I can't play in the same room as him because he's so sexist about it." She fumes, gripping her frying pan. Atlantis wonders where the hell that frying pan came from. _Maybe magic?_

Liechtenstein makes a small gasp. "Big brother said it was a bad game." Belarus pipes in with her own comment. "I learned my best techniques from Black Ops." The room fills with a very awkward silence. Atlantis hopes Belarus is referring to her stalking techniques. She glances at everyone and notices her opportunity quickly fading. She has to say something fast before someone changes the topic. If that were to happen, it would be too awkward and suspicious to try to bring it up again.

"There is something good about Black Ops, Liechtenstein." Atlantis faces Liechtenstein. "It's good for pranks." Confused, Ukraine asks, "Pranks?" Atlantis brightens up. It seems the topic hasn't died yet. She still has a chance to turn this to her favor.

"Yes, pranks. I heard girls do pranks on others at sleepovers, so, why not us? It would be fun." Atlantis notices that all the girls are currently giving her their undivided attention, curiosity gleaming in their eyes as they watch her speak. She continues with her speech. "Remember America announcing at the meeting today about his so-called 'awesome' Black Ops Night?" At this, they all nod. "Well, why don't we crash their little party? Knowing those men, they're still playing. Let's play a little 'game' with them." She finishes with a grin.

"What do you mean by 'game', Atlantis? Also, are you sure we should do this?" says Hungary.

Recalling the Hungarian's earlier comment about Prussia, the Atlantian coolly replies, "Well, let's just say that we'll play Black Ops with them. I know for a fact that Prussia will be there. We should teach him a lesson. The _'men'_ on Black Ops are really sexist." Hungary's anger lights up in her eyes. She brings her frying pan out again. "Count me in" Hungary says as she taps her frying pan. Atlantis turns toward the others, smiling, "You girls should take part in the prank. It would be really fun."

Belarus, seeming to think it over, coldly says" Fine, I'm in. I need to get revenge on America anyway for getting too close to my future husband."

Ukraine sighs. "I'll join too, then. It's a good thing I played the game with Belarus a few times." "You won't regret it." Atlantis replies.

All the girls turn towards Liechtenstein. Liechtenstein becomes a little nervous at all the attention she receiving. "But big brother says only delinquents play games like Black Ops." She shyly looks away. Atlantis gently says, "Were are not delinquents and we play Black Ops. Switzerland is using a stereotype to label us Black Ops players as bad people. You do not think _we're _bad, right?" Liechtenstein replies shyly with a "no."

Atlantis claps her hands together. "That's good. Don't worry about not knowing how to play; I'll give you a quick tutorial."

"I'll help you too!"

"I'll help as well."

"I guess I'll give you a few pointers."

_Perfect. _Atlantis inwardly gives an evil laugh. She hugs her Twinkie pillow tightly. She couldn't wait to get her revenge on America for the "uptight" comment. Sure, she was more pissed at the sexist bastards than him, but, he is the only guy she can seek revenge on. She knows where he lives; it's more convenient. She is not going to hunt down strangers. That's too much trouble for a bunch of losers. Her boss said she needs to establish friendly relations, so this is her way of doing it. (Well, he specifically wants alliances and for her to not piss anyone off.)

"I have some resources we can use. Here's what and how we're doing."

Atlantis, wearing a dark purple cloak and mask, readies herself. She is glad she made Zale pull over to a store after they left the library. She has all the supplies she needs for the prank: the dark purple cloak; a strange white, grinning mask with a long chin; one headset; a PS3; and five controllers. It is a good thing she remembered to bring Zale's Black Ops game. While thinking of Zale, she glances in his direction. Zale is currently setting up the equipment, and mumbling to himself how she's wasting his talents on silly missions such as this.

Atlantis sees all the girls sitting in front of Hungary's TV screen, with the controllers in their hands. "Is everyone ready?" A varying of responses of "yes" in their native languages satisfies her. "Remember not to laugh or speak too hard. The men might hear us if we do." The Atlantian walks to her laptop set up ready for her.

It is a simple, sleek black laptop propped up on an oak desk. She sits down, adjusts her headset and disguise, and gives Zale the signal. "You know what to do." "Yes, Master Atlantis." he says bitterly. He starts rapidly typing on his laptop. The TV screen in front of the girls blinks in on a group of solders. Belarus looks in Atlantis' direction, and Atlantis nods. Belarus smirks and starts the assault. The others fall suit. The screams and yelling follow. The girls constantly attack the men. The counterattack from the men fails to kill them.

"What the fuck!? Who's shooting us?"

"Who dares ambush the awesome me!"

"Chigi! Who's the stupidos attacking us?!"

"Ce que l'enfer!?"

Zale points at Atlantis, she nods and looks directly into the webcam. He presses a button on his laptop. Atlantis' laptop screen flashes and shows America, Prussia, Romano, France, Spain, and China gasping at the screen. America, Prussia, Romano, and France are sitting on an old couch holding the controllers. Spain is sitting on the floor next to Romano with a churro sticking out of his mouth. China nearly drops the plate of dumplings on the floor.

"Hello, I am S." says Atlantis' distorted and masculine voice. She chose S because is the last letter in her name. A reminded her of some American TV drama she saw on TV once. She made sure beforehand to change her speech pattern and choice of words. She didn't want to risk the chance of them recognizing her. The game would be ruined.

Romano furiously stands up from his seat and jabs his index finger at the screen. "Who the fuck do you think you are, you damn hacker! Attacking us for no good reason!"

Atlantis' distorted chuckles echo in the headset. "As I said before, I am S. I want to have some fun." America abruptly stands up. "I recognize that mask anywhere!" Atlantis stiffens a bit. "_Shit. He didn't see me buy the mask, did he?"_

"It's the Anonymous troll mask! You guys are Anonymous hackers!" America dramatically exclaims as he points at the screen. Atlantis pauses for a few moments. "_Anonymous? What the fuck is that? I'll play along then. I'll ask someone later."_

"Yes, we are. We are here to play, kids. You guys are my chosen victims: the chosen ones. We're going to destroy your kill streak whenever you're online."

"You Bastard! You won't get away with this 'cause I'm the hero! And with my sidekicks" "We're not your sidekicks, aru!" "we'll kick your guys' ass!"

Atantis, wanting to screw around with America's mind, has a devious thought. "Impossible. I am justice." America looks like he's about to retort when she cuts the connection. She removes her mask and grins at her accomplices. "That was fun, right girls?" Laughs echo around the room.

Liechtenstein nods. "It was so much fun! I don't understand why big brother won't let me play this game." Liechtenstein turns her attention back to the screen. "I want to continue playing."

"I think it's time to go to sleep now. It's pretty late and we need to rest." Hungary places her hand on Liechtenstein's shoulder. Liechtenstein shakes her head. "You can go to sleep, I'll keep playing."

Hungary looks to Ukraine for help. Ukraine walks over to Liechtenstein. "You need to rest your eyes. Playing video games too long is bad for the eyes." She shakes her head again. Atlantis sighs in irritation and tries to give a friendly smile. She walks over to Liechtenstein. "Liechtenstein, you can play again later. Besides," Atlantis pats Liechtenstein's back, "We have plenty of time to play with the chosen ones." They start laughing.

"Why couldn't you girls play Mario Kart instead? That's easier to hack" complains Zale. Atlantis humors him. "Its gives you some more hacking experience to put on your résumé. Don't worry, I'll be sure to tell your boss to give you a promotion for this."

"Atlantis, now that I think about it, don't you think Switzerland will get mad at us for Liechtenstein's Black Ops addiction?" Hungary seems a little worried about this thought.

"As long as we keep our mouths closed, he'll never know it was us. You won't snitch on us, right Liechtenstein?" Atlantis asks her. "Of course," Liechtenstein smiles.

* * *

For one week, Atlantis, Hungary, Belarus, Ukraine, and Liechtenstein –mostly herself- spent the entire time "trolling" the chosen ones. (She loves the word trolling now. It's now close to her heart.) She did her research on this Anonymous group. It explained why he recognized the mask. It was hilarious to hear their frustrated screams and cursing. They didn't catch on that it was them all along. She knew they tried to catch the laptop's signal and jam it. Luckily, Zale was able to counter all their attempts.

Operation Troll Face Trolling is a success.

The meeting had ended and she sees America upset in his seat. She gets up from her seat and walks to him. Once she's standing right next to him, she putd her face down. "What is it you Americans say? 'What's up homedog'?" America chuckles and glances up "Oh, hey Atlantis."

Atlantis wants to pry into his thoughts and know his reactions to Operation Troll Face Trolling. "What is wrong, America. You seem upset for some reason." The melancholy returns to his face. "Some hackers thought it would be fun to screw around with me and some of the nations on Black ops. The leader calls himself S."

"That sounds awful, America. Have you done anything about it?"

"We tried to track the signal, but it keeps getting jammed. I don't know if I can keep playing Black Ops if this keeps happening. It's my favorite game too" He seems genuinely upset at this.

Atlantis starts feeling a little guilty. "_Maybe the prank did go a little too far," she thinks glumly. "Good thing we agreed to stop trolling them the day before the world conference meeting began." _Hoping to console him, she hesitantly rubs his back. She heard that physical contact is good for cheering up sad people. "It's going to be okay. I'm sure they'll get bored and leave you alone soon. Besides, they cannot harass you forever, America." She smiles at him with sincere eyes.

America smiles. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up, Lanti." Her right hand twitches at her newly dubbed nickname. He stands up and gives her a hug, lifting her up from the ground. Atlantis' eyes widens at his hug. She starts feeling nervous and squirms in his grip. "You're welcome. Now, please let me down." "Not until you hug me back" He gives her an extra squeeze. She wraps her arms around his chest awkwardly and hugs him back weakly. America gently places her down on the ground.

"I'm sorry about the uptight comment. France told me you hate being called that. Wanna come over to my place sometime and play Black Ops?" America looks hopeful at her. Atlantis, not wanting to disappoint him, replies, "I forgive you. I would love to play with you."

France waltzes behind them and wraps an arm around one of their shoulders. "Ohononon. Looks like Amerique is getting some action soon." He winks at America. Atlantis and America both blush badly at his words. They mumble incoherent denials but France won't listen.

England storms over to France and yanks him away from them. "Dammit you bloody frog! Stop making sexual innuendos!" France runs away laughing, with England chasing him with his hands outstretched, ready to choke him when he gets close enough. Atlantis and America awkwardly look at each other. America coughs into his hand. "So, I'll see you later?" "Yes, later." Atlantis bolts out the meeting room.

The Atlantian makes a few turns in the hallways and comes to a stop. She leans against a wall and sighs. "_This alliance crap is harder than I thought it would be. I better get used to it, though. I have an ominous feeling more similar events are going to happen in the future." _She hears footsteps heading in her direction. She perks up and sees Liechtenstein walking with Switzerland following her.

"Big brother, I want to go home and play Black Ops! Let's hurry." Liechtenstein hurries past Atlantis and says a quick goodbye. Right when Switzerland was about to pass her, Atlantis gives a polite "Hello." She hears him mumble, "When I find out who introduced her Black Ops, I'll make sure not to miss when they trespass on my property."Atlantis pales and stays frozen as he turns a corner to catch up with Liechtenstein.

"Looks as though I'm not confessing anytime soon…not in this lifetime, hell no…."

* * *

**It took a long time to get this first chapter out. The timeline starts roughly around 15 years since Atlantis has been rediscovered and reintroduced into the modern era. She has been learning more about this new society and she is still trying to get used to it. Atlantis was inspired by the Disney movie: Atlantis: The Lost Empire. So, it will have slight similarities to it.**

**This was sort of like an introduction of Atlantis, my oc, to the Hetalia cast. Atlantis tries to present a serious persona, but inside, she's silly and childish. Which, she doesn't like to admit. Each chapter will slowly show her character and Atlantis' history since her country's disappearance from the world. It'll be here and there. I didn't want to give you guys an info dump in one chapter. **

**Black Ops II. My female friends told me some stories about their experience playing males using Wi-Fi. Not all males playing are sexist bastards. Some don't even care you're a girl. Beware, some curse a lot, too. I don't remember if their experiences involved Black Ops or Modern Warfare. It's been months since the last time I asked them. **

**(Note: I don't play either of these games. Therefore, I can't confirm which one it was unless I ever ask them again. I do recall them saying they made an all female guild. It was their support group. They also added they couldn't walk into a tavern and talk unless they wanted to be hit with perverted pick up lines.) **

**The headshot-while-falling-off-a-building story is true. That happened to one of them. Apparently that guy was from a hardcore and famous guild. You have to be very hardcore and skilled in order to be invited to join. The nude photo question is also true. The sandwich story too. Atlantis added her own commentary, though. :D**

**Yes, I made a small reference to Pretty Little Liars. Originally, S was going to be A, but, I remembered my conversation asking my friend for a summary for Pretty Little Liars. I wanted to change it to S instead. (All I know is A is trying to kill a group of girls. That's it. This conversation started because I found a Pretty Little Liars book in our school's library and I asked my friend about it. I remembered the commercials about the show.)**

**I can't believe I posted my first story. Hopefully, my writing skills improve as each chapter is posted. I need to go re-watch some Hetalia episodes now…**


	2. The Evil Ghost and The Lumpy Ass Debate

**It's China's turn. :D **

**I don't own Hetalia and I never will. I only own Atlantis, Zale, and King Cyril. (And Genji Bo, somewhat, I guess.)**

* * *

Atlantis is hugging her heavy coat closer to her in the freezing climate of Harbin, admiring her and her Atlantean teammates' work-in-progress ice hotel. The Atlanteans are using ice saws and lasers to carve the outside of the hotel dubbed "Poseidon's Paradise Hotel." The hotel is carved with dolphins, turtles, whales, sirens, and other sea creatures on the sides of it. Cranes were carefully placing ice bricks on the almost-complete roof. Some bored Atlanteans guard the front entrance, glaring at occasional passersby to dare attempt to enter. The ice hotel blends in well with the other ice made buildings surrounding it. She muses how all these crowded buildings lives up to the festival's name "Ice City."

" Ni hao….Atlantis, aru." Atlantis looks behinds her and sees China looking at her curiously. He seems to be thinking about something important. Atlantis puts on her friendly smile, adjusts the golden crown on her head, and walks towards him. "Greetings, China. How are you this fine day?"

"Fine, aru. I'm curious, what are you doing here," China cuts the small talk. "You're not just here to compete for the Genji's free Victoria's Secret backstage passes, are you?" China shakes his head slightly in shame and sends her an accusing look.

Atlantis keeps her composure at his accusation. "Of course not, I would never compete for such a ridicules prize." The Atlanteans in the front of the ice hotel grumble under their breath "liar" in Atlantean.

"I wanted to participate in the festival itself because it looked fun. There is no snow in Atlantis, so we never thought of such competition." She keeps her eyes focused on China's, looking to see if her small speech convinced him.

China, not looking thoroughly convinced, sighs. "If you say so, aru. I need to leave now. Genji chose me to be one of the 'judges.'" China leaves the slightly awkward atmosphere and walks deeper into the Ice City, sadly mumbling "This festival is not a competition, aru. This immature generation can't just marvel the sculptures anymore."

Atlantis lets out a sigh of relief when she sees China's figure disappearing in the huge crowds of people. She wouldn't need to be here competing for those backstage passes if her boss, King Cyril, had not 'confiscated' her pass. He had claimed that it looked 'suspicious' and it was booby-trapped with Anthrax by terrorists.

She thinks it's complete bullshit. Why would terrorists target her? It's not like they know she's a country. Also, she knows he just wants to go backstage and flirt with supermodels. Maybe score some lingerie after the show. But, she can't say that to her Boss' face. Fuck terrorists and her boss.

Atlantis tried to get another pass from the producer, but she was told it wasn't possible. The producer probably thought she was trying to score an extra pass. When she heard about Genji Bo's contest from her connections, she was elated. (Rumors say that Genji is trying to keep his contest a secret from his father for as long as possible.) She bribed the best sculptors and left immediately to Harbin, China. Since than, she had spent over a week and a half on Poseidon's Paradise Hotel.

The two-week deadline to complete the hotel is tomorrow. As well as Genji's judging day. Atlantis has worked so hard on making her hotel stand out from the rest. There are over a hundred ice sculptures here. He is only going to judge the best of the best.

At China's revelation, Atlantis is a little nervous about him discovering her true intentions here. She doesn't want him to discover it and disappoint him. He didn't look like he approves of Genji's competition. At all. She wants China to view her in a positive way.

Atlantis looks across the frozen street and frowns at the obnoxious team laughing. She clenches her teeth as she remembers first talking to those bastards. She glares at their Aphrodite ice palace. The looming symmetrical columns hold the carefully polished roof. The two giant Aphrodite statues at each side of the palace seem to teasingly mock her. Her glaring match with the statues catches their attention.

"Hey Copycat! Ready to have your ass whooped tomorrow?" One of the men eagerly yells.

A slightly chubby man with an ice saw waves. "Those tickets are ours!" The other men hoot in agreement.

"Ice princess, are you prettying yourself up for our victory tomorrow?"

Atlantis huffs and gracefully walks toward her ice hotel. When she nears the entrance the guards stand aside. She harshly whispers to them, "Let no one enter, especially non-Atlanteans. I'm going to finish the lobby myself." The guards stand aside. "Yes, Master Atlantis."

One of the workers walks over to her. "Here, you can borrow my laser Master Atlantis."

Atlantis eyes the foreign laser. "No thank you, I will do this the old-fashioned way." Once inside, the guards securely close the door.

The grand lobby looks incomplete with the crumbled ice furniture. A statue of Poseidon stands firmly with his trident in the middle of the room. The bellhop desk is placed toward the back of the room. The front of it is decorated with frames of Greek Gods greeting mortals. Two curved grand staircases leading to the next floor are at each side of the room.

Atlantis moves her arms in front of her and flicks her wrist and fingers outwards. A medium-sized hole appears in the ground. Atlantis moves her arms towards her left and the icy water follows her movement. The water elemental carefully makes the water into the form of a chair and freezes it. Gathering more water from the hole, she guides the water onto her hands. The ice instantly freezes into the shape of chisels. She quickly carves out the small decorative details in the luxurious chair.

The Atlantean stands tall as she admires her work. _I wouldn't have had to rebuild the lobby furniture if those bastards didn't come and destroyed them. _She rubs her face in irritation. Her hand suddenly stops and drops to her side. She lights up when she remembers the revenge she planned to do tonight.

Ever since the men from across the street sabotaged her hotel's lobby. She knew they were the ones that did it. Their jokes and grins confirm it. She made plans to sabotage their hopes of winning. The Atlantean took note that they have already completed their contest entry. The Aphrodite team is spending their time polishing the palace to perfection. She planned to carry out her revenge on the night before the judging began. She didn't want to give them time to fix and/or hide it before the judges came. She wants to ensure their loss.

A grin etches its way on her face. She gives an evil laugh before she looks at the lobby again. She grumbles and goes back to work rebuilding. Her hands poised as it moves the water from the hole.

* * *

It is now night-time in Ice City. The lights inserted inside the ice buildings glows with vibrant colors ranging from green to red. The tourists gaze in amazement at the lights and buildings. The buildings include the Empire State Building, the Eiffel Tower, the pyramids, skyscrapers, and the occasional random sculptures.

Atlantis is among the crowd on the street admiring the buildings. She slowly walks as she looks at her competition. As she walks past a temple, she sees a strange giant cat sculpture. "_Is that a cat….thing in a dress?" _She shakes her head and walks into the Hollywood Bar. Statues of celebrities line along the walls of the bar. People are on the dance floor dancing to the music from the boom box on a man's shoulder. A drunken teenager is trying to dance but keeps bumping into people. Film strips and scenes -she assumes are famous and well known- are carved into the wall.

Atlantis sees China sitting on the ice sofa watching the crowd. She goes over and takes a seat next to him. She gets comfortable in her seat and gives him a sly stare. He didn't seem to notice her yet. His face shows signs of tiredness and slight irritation. He yawns and hugs his stuffed animal closer to him.

Atlantis is a little worried about him. He looks exhausted. "Hello China. Are you okay?"

China is startled and then relaxes. He turns to face Atlantis and gives a tired smile. "I'm okay, Atlantis. You don't have to worry aru," China adjusts himself and straightens his back. "I'm only a little tired."

Atlantis frowns at this. "If you're tired, why are you in a bar instead of resting?"

"I'm babysitting Genji, aru. He's a very powerful chinese politician's son. He's very irresponsible too," China sighs. He looks toward the stage. "He's the one on stage now, aru." Atlantis follows his direction and sees a drunken teenager wearing an expensive suit with his arms wrapped around two girls' shoulders. Genji sways left and right while trying to sing. The girls giggle at his attempt.

"I didn't believe Italy when he said he discovered Atlantis with Germany and Japan." Atlantis snaps her attention back on China. Her fingers scraps against the sofa. She puts her undivided attention on him. She is wondering where he is going with this conversation.

"While Japan was telling me about their adventure in Atlantis, he told me they went straight to Italy's house after attending a funeral, aru." His voice lowers when he mentions the funeral. China's grip on his stuffed animal tightens. A slight look of fear appears on China's face as his face pales. Atlantis leans a little towards him. She is very anxious about what made China so fearful about.

"I thought a ghost followed Italy home: an evil and cursed one." China's eyes shifts away from her. Atlantis becomes confused. She doesn't understand why China cannot look her in the eyes. "You, aru."

Atlantis freezes in shock. She couldn't bring herself to speak. Her hand twitches a bit. The area of ice surrounding Atlantis' hand silently cracks a bit before creating a mini crater. China doesn't seem to notice. He still doesn't seem to be able to look her in the eyes. Loud shouts of the club goers shouting "go,go, go Genji!" repeatedly.

"I remember Greece mentioned once to Japan about Atlantis, aru. He lent Japan a scroll of his mother's. Japan used it as inspiration for one of his Mangas." China looks thoughtful for a moment. "It wasn't very popular, aru."

Atlantis flinches at the mention of Greece and his mother. Her memory is a little vague in the time before her country sunk into the ocean. She's not sure why, though. But, she remembers vaguely the horrible things her and her country has done before her country sunk. She shakes her head. The Atlantean doesn't want to recall those horrible memories right now. "_China thinks I'm a ghost, but why?"_

Atlantis gathers her courage from within herself and readies to finally speak up. "China, why did you think I was a ghost?" China's thoughtful look disappears. He shifts a little uncomfortably. "Greece said you died 900 years ago, aru."

Atlantis' hand makes the mini crater even deeper. Her mind went into overdrive. "_That explains why China acts so cautious around me. I still don't fully understand why he believed I was a ghost who followed Italy home, though." _Her fingers circle around the crater she made.

Her thoughts pause for a moment. She remembers that earlier in the conversation he mentioned a ghost: an evil one. She tries not to show the panic in her eyes. She fears that he might have read the scroll. Ancient Greece probably documented _those _events from hundreds of years ago: he might think she's a horrible person. Hopefully, he won't judge her based on past actions. China didn't say _what_ was in the scroll. She tries to reassure herself of this thought. Her expression darkens at the thought of Japan publishing a manga based on her past. And, it wasn't even popular! China stands his ground against her dark expression.

The very awkward and tense atmosphere is broken by Genji's hollering.

Genji releases his hold on the girls and grabs a microphone from his intimidating bodyguard. He wobbles before he gains good enough balance to stand by himself. "I have a very important announcement to make!" Everyone in the bar immediately turns their attention to Genji. The music is abruptly turned off. The silence encourages him to continue. He pumps his fist into the air and shouts.

"Striper Par-taaaaay!"

The doors from each side of the stage burst open with strippers. The woman strippers are wearing pink bunny ears and a pervert's version of a woman's tuxedo. Complete with fish net stockings reaching up to their thighs and black high heels. The men, however, nearly makes Atlantis drool on sight. All the men were sexy, shirtless, and have amazing abs. The cuffs on their wrists wrinkle as they wave towards the adoring crowd. The black tights complement their legs. Did she mention their abs are sexy?

Genji throws the microphone over his head. He points his hand in hers and China's direction. Everyone, as if they know who he's referring to, turns their attention to the countries. "Now, my strippers show my babysitter China and his friend a good time!" The exclamation did not register in their brains for a few moments. But when some of the strippers start to surround them, it was too late for the two now-blushing countries to make a run for it, especially China.

Three female strippers arrange themselves around China. A blonde woman stands behind him massaging his shoulders. A red-head with freckles sits in between her and China. She giggles and plays with his ponytail. The last one was a woman with long, wavy black hair. She sits on his lap whispering things Atlantis refuses to repeat out loud. China tries to awkwardly shuffle off the sofa. "Please stop aru! This is very inappropriate!"

The black-haired women chuckles and whispers something…and licks his ear. China is knocked out cold after that. The water elemental doesn't even want to know what she said. She swears she sees blood tinkling down his nose.

"Hello beautiful, mind paying attention to us now?"

Atlantis turns around slowly to see three sexy men standing in front of her. She keeps her attention on the man see deems the leader of the group: the blond-haired guy with cerulean eyes in the middle. He leans forward and chuckles.

"So, I assume this is your first time at this kind of party?" At his comment, all the strippers in the area chuckle.

"Don't worry, it'll be fun. I'll show ya a good time." The handsome man winks.

Atlantis' face is becomes even redder. She doesn't know how long it'll be before she faints like China, too. She doesn't want to embarrass herself even more. Her ego has already taken enough blows for tonight.

She hastily stands up, causing the stripper to take a few steps back. She jabs her index finger in a random direction to her right.

"O-oh look, m-my sexy Italian lover is over there. B-bye!" Atlantis screeches as she runs in that direction. She trips occasionally and picks herself up each time. Her screams of "I'm faithful! I'm faithful!" is heard throughout the bar. The dancers stare and laugh hard at her words. She ditches China as she saves herself. She finds a door in a far corner and slams the door behind her. She stacks the boxes in front of the door and barricades herself in the room. She curls into a fetal position on the floor, mumbling "Too much sexiness" over and over. During her entire existence, she has never had a man treat her like that. The men Atlantis knew usually were grumpy; dislike her; or friendly acquaintances.

After 30 minutes, Atlantis was able to calm down. She fumbles with her crystal necklace as she reflects tonight's events. China's words sting a little. She believes China doesn't think she's a ghost anymore, since he talked to her about it. She wants to burn the scroll and shove the ashes down a kraken's throat.

_**Cursed.**_

For some reason, that word painfully resonates throughout her body. She knows that word means something important to her. But, she's not sure what.

Moonlight filters in through the tiny window above her head. As she gazes at the moon, she suddenly remembers her plan for tonight. Judging by the moon's position in the sky, it's a few hours after midnight. The morning of the competition. She stands from the floor and wipes the imaginary dust off her clothes.

Atlantis remembers the direction of the Aphrodite Palace from here. She gets into place and waves her hands over the ice. A large hole opens in the ice. Atlantis leans closer to dip her fingers into the water. The icy water drips as she removes her hand. She knew the water would be freezing, but not this cold. Someone could quickly die of hypothermia if they fell in.

The Atlantean wills the water form a protective shield around her. Thrusting her arms into the air, she keeps it close to her body. She hops into the hole. When she's in the water, she freezes the hole, leaving no evidence of her escape route.

Atlantis swims using front strokes towards her destination. The water shield molds easily with her movement. She sees an upside down ice dolphin on the ice ceiling. She smirks in triumph: she spotted her marker. Swimming up to the ice dolphin, she propels herself up toward the ceiling. The water elemental breaks through and drags herself onto the cold floor. Once she completely removes herself from the opening, she seals up the hole. She kicks the leftover ice shards to the side.

Atlantis has successfully infiltrated into the Aphrodite Palace unseen. She claps her hands together and grins with glee.

_"Oh my, the Aphrodite Palace looks incomplete. I should help them."_

* * *

Atlantis lounges on a sofa in a hallway sipping her chocolate Latte. She sighs in content. Making those poor quality statutes didn't take as long as she thought. She estimates an hour at most. She even had time to take a short nap. She hears a commotion outside. She hurries to finish her latte and tosses it under the sofa. She scurries over to a room, almost slipping and falling on her face. She closes the door and bends down on all fours. She waves her hand on the ice and creates a small peephole. The door slams open and four men enter.

"Chill China, they were just strippers."

"They were prostitutes, aru!"

"Are you sure? I thought I booked strippers for you. Did you have fun anyway?"

"No, aru!"

"Calm down you two, it's time to judge."

"Okay, Jackie Chan."

Two members of Team Aphrodite lurk behind the judges. A greasy, black-haired team member walks in front of the group. "Welcome judges; let me introduce you to our humble Aphrodi-" The man looks towards in shock. Everyone in the group follows his lead and gape at the scene. Ice sculptures of women lying on the ground with male partners on top of them are in-between the columns of the room. It looks to be they are engaging in sexual activities. The worst sculpture is the one in the middle of the hallway.

A woman is on her knees with her back arched. There appears to be tentacles wrapping around the woman. The tentacles only leave her butt and face untouched. The group of men stands in front of this poorly crafted statue. Atlantis is proud of all of her sculptures: even though it looks terrible. In her opinion, it looks more like the open hours of the real Aphrodite temples. She knows first hand what it used to look like.

China screams and covers his eyes. "Aiyah! Japan's tentacle porn, aru ! "

Genji's eyes sparkle in excitement. "If this was of higher quality, I would have voted this place a winner."

Jackie Chan shakes his head in shame.

The last judge walks up to the statue and gropes the woman's butt. He rubs her butt up and down slowly. "Hmmm, too lumpy."

"Aiyah, pervert!"

The judge realizes his mistake and sharply backs away. He blushes badly. "I meant the sculpture is lumpy! Not her butt!"

"Why did you chose her butt of all places, than?" Jackie Chan raises an eyebrow.

The judge stutters incoherent responses. Genji struts up to him and wraps an arm around his shoulders. "It's okay if you like lumpy asses. In my opinion, a nice firm ass is the best." Genji uses his other hand to demonstrate a groping action. "I can fit my entire hand on her ass."

Everyone, besides Genji, blush as red as Spain's tomato's.

Atlantis stands from her hiding spot and reaches behind her. She rubs her butt looking thoughtful. "_I have a firm ass._ _Does the majority of the male population prefer firm or lumpy asses?" _Atlantis contemplates this and decides to store this 'important' piece of information away. She feels she's progressing closer to unraveling the mysteries of modern men.

* * *

Genji and the judges are standing on the make-shift stage. A giant, wide television screen is behind them. A television crew keeps the camera focused on Genji. Genji proudly waves his hand towards the crowd.

"Attention everyone! We, the judges, have made our decision." The three judges sigh in relief. He pulls out a red envelope from his pocket. "The winner is…" Atlantis watches in suspense.

Genji opens the envelope and pulls out a slip of paper. "Team Shinatty-chan!" Atlantis widens her eyes in shock. On the screen was the giant cat thing she saw near the Hollywood bar.

China smiles and squeezes the stuffed animal to his chest. "So cute, aru! I love the kimono Shinatty-chan is wearing." The other judges nod in agreement. The three members of Team Shinatty-chan jumps onto the stage to shake hands with Genji. Genji eagerly grins and hands them four passes. Atlantis' mind connects the dots. Shinatty-chan is the gaint cat-thing. The stuffed animal in China's arms is Shinatty-chan. All the judges were highly likely to have been swayed by China's vote. She lost to a stuffed animal…

"There you are son!" yells a man who looks to be in his fifties. He charges across the stage and grabs Genji's ear. Genji wines in protest.

"You dishonor our name with this immature contest! Why aren't you school right now getting me A's!" roars Mr. Bo.

"I wanted to have fun, dad." Genji continues whining.

"That's it, I'm taking away your porn for a month." Mr. Bo declares.

Genji's eyes widen. "No, anything but my porn! Growing boys need porn, it's a fact!"

"Did you learn that from your American school, too?"

Mr. Bo drags Genji by the ear off the stage. He walks Genji toward his black limo. He lets go and allows Genji to glumly climb into the passenger seat. Mr. Bo gets inside the driver's side and starts the car. The limo drives away from Ice City.

Meanwhile, the crowd awkwardly backs away and leaves the area. Atlantis catches up with Team Shinatty-chan. She stands in front of them and the team pauses. "I'll give you three million yuan for one pass."

"Deal"

_Even though I lost to a stuffed animal, I still get my backstage pass. Look out boss, I'm going to ruin your supermodel time backstage. _

**Word Count: 3,922**

**Pages: 11**

**I don't think I mentioned this before, so, I'll state it now. The majority of my oc, Atlantis, is based upon Plato's two dialogues ****"Timaeus" and "Critias." Along with a very slight influence from the Disney movie Atlantis: The Lost Empire.**

**Originally in Plato's dialogues, he mentions that Atlantis existed for 9,000 years. Researchers have pointed out Plato accidentally misinterpreted the Egyptian word "100" for "1000." Plus, the technology that Atlantis had made would make more sense if it existed around the Middle Bronze Age. Thus I made Atlantis age 900 instead of 9,000. I also didn't want her to be older than China. It would feel strange since he's older than the other Hetalians, by a lot. **

**Atlantis is a water elemental because the God Poseidon founded the island nation. I thought it was fitting to have her powers represent Poseidon.**

**Chinese superstition: Never go straight home after attending a funeral. If you do, a ghost will follow you home. **

**The annual Ice and Snow Festival is held in Harbin, China. It is officially open to the public on January 5****th**** every year. But, people like showing up earlier and look around. Participants are given a two-week time frame to construct their sculptures. They love embedding the ice with lights so it can glow at night. So yes, they make awesome castles that stand 48 meters tall. No, it's not a contest. I just added that part. :D **

**Genji Bo is **_**very**_** loosely based the real guy; Bo Guagua. He's the son of Xilai Bo: a Chinese anti-corruption official. Mr. Bo is also loosely based on Xilai Bo.**

**Mr. Bo is based on the stereotype that Asian parents are strict and expect good grades. As well as the high expectations parents have for their children. Since you guys watch Hetalia, I assume you won't get offended from this stereotype?**

**Guagua is known as a 'party boy.' He had thrown a party and used his connections to get Jackie Chan to show up and give a lecture. That's why I had Jackie Chan have a brief appearance. :D**

**I emphasize on the words 'very loosely based' on Guagua. I highly doubt the real Guagua acts like Genji. XD**

**Yes, there is such a thing as Victoria's Secret Backstage passes. :)**


	3. Mexican Submarines

**Now it's time for the Twinkies. I thought this was going to be my shortest chapter. It turns out to be my longest. It seemed so short in my head until it expanded when I typed it. XD Please review. I like reviews. :) I only own my OCs Atlantis, King Cyril, Marco and Zale.**

* * *

Atlantis lounges on her resting couch in front of her marble fireplace rereading important documents. The fire from the fireplace keeps her warm as she lazily flips through each page with boredom.

Atlantis' bedroom contains rare antiques from ancient times. The display cases hold treasures, pottery, the best quality of hand crafted boxes, and precious gold jewelry. Stone pillars surround the room. Animal skin rugs are underneath nearly every piece of furniture. The Egyptian inspired chest, filled with all her clothes, stands across from her marble bed. The bed is made up of two large blocks with depictions of battles. The bottom block is larger than the one on top of it. A thin mattress with animal fur pillows lies neatly on the bed. Her room has only a few modern touches here and there.

A knock at her door gains her attention. The Atlantean looks up from the documents. She hopes her maid came back with her favorite treat. "You may enter." A maid opens the large marble doors with some difficulty and a maid is shoved into the room. The fearful maid ruffles her dress and closes the door lightly behind her. The maid walks in front of Atlantis with her head down. The maid fails to give her direct eye contact. Atlantis raises a brow at her maid's empty hands and looks at her maid with suspicion. "_She better not have eaten it."_

"Where is my favorite snack?"

The maid twiddles her fingers and shuffles her feet. She hesitantly lifts her head. "Master Atlantis, we…..ran out of Twinkies." The maid looks abruptly down and shakes. Mumbling is heard outside her door. Atlantis ignores this at the moment.

Atlantis frowns. "Oh my, already?" The maid trembles in fear. Atlantis waves the maid away. "Go buy some more then. I can wait a few days." The maid trembles even more and tries to speak up louder.

"The A-American company…..a-are not m-making Twinkies…..a-anymore. They went… b-bankrupt two days ago." The scared maid slowly backs away as she talks. Atlantis' eye twitches and gives a cruel smile that scares the maid even more.

Atlantis clenches her fist at her side. "The company went bankrupt and nobody bothered to tell me?" The water elemental glares at the maid in front of her. The maid flings herself to the ground and grovels. "W-We thought y-you knew since you k-keep up with the modern w-world for the past 15 years now…"

Atlantis resists the urge to yank the maid and force her to stand up. Her anger is nearing the breaking point. "I have been catching up on modern _technological advances, nothing else_." She gestures to the maid to stand up. The shivering maid stands up and unconsciously glances to the door.

"Leave now, I need to prepare for my….. journey." The maid scurries and exits her bedroom. The maids and butlers standing outside in shock run to do their tasks. As soon as the maid leaves the room, Atlantis slouches in her klismos chair. She becomes agitated at the idea that no one told her about her precious Twinkies.

The Atlantean doesn't know how she'll survive without her heavenly snack. She was so used to eating seafood throughout her existence that the taste of Twinkies appealed to her. When she takes a bite of that delicious spongy cake, the creamy filling fills her with joy. She feels like a child again with Twinkies. She'll go nuts without it! She shakes her head. "_Get a hold of yourself Atlantis!"_

Sadly, there's hardly any Twinkies here in Atlantis. People usually prefer _Kourabiedes _cookies over Twinkies.

The golden-eyed woman plots about what she must do once she arrives in America. She doesn't want to just run around the city unprepared without a 'battle plan.' She thinks about buying the company and ordering them to make her Twinkies forever. She has more than enough gold and treasures to do it. She frowns at the flaws of the plan.

She remembers vaguely about the information-hungry media. They're more vicious and cunning nowadays with their advanced technology. They'll try to discover who bought the company. Atlantis doesn't want to be blamed for that fiasco. She shudders at her imagination of being yelled at by her boss.

Plus, there is too much paperwork and court appearances involved. It might even take months to restart the company, hire decent employees, begin Twinkie production, et cetera.

Atlantis figures she has a limited amount of time to buy the remaining Twinkies. She's going to buy out the shelves for her favorite treats, no matter the cost.

Atlantis shuffles in her seat trying to sit in a more comfortable position. "_I need a few modern chairs in here. __klismos are not comfortable to sit on."_

Atlantis scrambles from her seat and urgently opens her golden Egyptian chest. She empties her chest looking for modern clothes; she needs speed in her favor. The Atlantean's instincts tell her that she needs to be able to run. Her robes will slow her down. She throws all her clothing in a giant pile. "_The maids will clean it up later."_ Atlantis knows she has some modern clothes somewhere in her chest. She only has one pair, though. She'll fix that later. The Atlantean pulls out the pair of clothes she's looking for: a pink mid-length skirt, a white shirt, and a black jacket. This is her only pair of modern clothes, so it has to do. At least it's stylish.

Atlantis is glad she listened to Hungary's suggestion to buy some modern clothes. She can use these clothes to blend in with the mortals. The less attention on her, the better it is for her 'quest.'

She quickly changes into her outfit and adjusts her crown and crystal necklace. Where ever she goes, she must have these two accessories on her person. She will not go anywhere without them. She grabs her black bag and flings it on her shoulder as she runs out. She'll buy clothing and necessities when she makes it to America. She doesn't have time to pack.

The dark blue-haired woman slams the door open and sprints down the hall. She takes numerous turns down the many hallways of her home. As she sprints down the last hallway to the main hall, she nearly crashes into her boss King Cyril.

King Cyril, wide-eyed, manages to dodge to the left and barely misses a potted plant. She yells her apology and slows to a jog. Once Atlantis is outside her palace, she hears her boss screaming for her to come back. Atlantis ignores his order and continues jogging down the cobble path for 20 minutes.

Atlantis spots a private jet and a pilot gazing at it. She stops behind him and pants in exhaustion. The pilot takes notice of her and patiently waits for her to regain her breath.

The moment she can speak, she straightens her back. Atlantis gives off an aura of authority as she speaks to him. "I need to leave immediately for America."

The oblivious pilot looks reluctantly at her. "This is one of His Highness' royal jets. I can't just-" He pauses at her evil glare. He starts to shiver from the sudden drop of temperature. The pilot wraps his arms around himself.

"If I'm not on this plane in 30 seconds, I will have a new ice sculpture to add to my…..collection" Atlantis gives him a sly smile. Her hand hovers in the direction of a puddle nearby. The water wrinkles and slowly lifts itself into the air. The pilot, finally picking up on her bad mood, panics. He breaks into sweat. "Of course Master Atlantis, follow me." She smiles and lets the water drop with a plop back into a puddle. He power walks to the plane with Atlantis hot on his trail.

The golden-eyed woman rubs her hands together in joy. She's finally going to buy her Twinkies!

* * *

The flight from Atlantis to New York was eight hours long. It was morning when she left and now its four o'clock in the afternoon! She was productive during this lengthy flight. Wasting time is horrifying to her. She fleshed out the details for her 'battle plan.'

Atlantis plans on visiting several grocery stores in the area. She recalls her maids talking about buying the Twinkies there. Even though the Atlantean took so long coming here, she feels she'll succeed in her 'quest.'

Atlantis walks past hot dog vendors on the crowded New York Streets. The tall skyscrapers looming above fascinate her. She never dreamed mortals would ever build buildings as huge as this. She becomes glum for a moment. She remembers she's not the most advanced civilization anymore. Her glory days is over.

Atlantis finds a large grocery store and walks inside. She looks in all directions for her precious snacks. There are several aisles of products horizontally aligned. Shoppers are scattered about with their shopping carts. There are three men in the back fixing a broken freezer containing bags of ice. In front of the men was a large pyramid of Twinkies.

Atlantis brightens and power walks to the pyramid. When she almost makes it to the pyramid, a herd of people dash and huddle around the Twinkies, successful blocking her target. The people grab large handfuls of the Twinkies and shove them into their baskets or carts. The shoppers push and shove each other, trying to grab the most Twinkies for themselves. Atlantis looks on horrified at their greedy faces. She snaps out of it and tries to thrust her way through the crowd of people.

"Please let me through." Atlantis politely asks. She's ignored by the herd. Some even glance in her direction and give her the stink eye. The Atlantean becomes enraged at their blatant rudeness. "_Is that how it's going to be then? Fine, drink water you bastards." _

The water elemental turns her attention to the broken ice machine behind the crowd. She gives a small smirk and pretends to give up. She casually walks to the side with her hands her pockets. Her hands give a small movement towards the ice machine and the pipes inside it erupt with water. The workers shriek and try to leap to the sides, but they get swept up in the water. The ice inside melts and joins with the surge of water heading for the greedy Twinkie lovers. The crowd screams in horror as the water sweeps them and the Twinkies away. Atlantis' face shows glee at their pitiful screams of terror. She loves abusing her power!

Atlantis' eyes widen at her miscalculation of the water's strength. The Twinkies are swept outwards towards the entrance of the store. Nearby shoppers, who are able to dodge the mini flood, quickly scramble for the Twinkies.

The shoppers hit by the water, as well as innocent bystanders, lay groaning on the ground. The floor is soaked with water. Some of the shoppers try to stand up, but they slip and fall down again. Employees run around grabbing "Wet Floor" stands to surround the huge mess. Other employees and shoppers try to help the fallen shoppers to their feet.

Shoppers eagerly snatch the wet Twinkies as quickly as they can. Atlantis sees a lone, innocent Twinkie a few feet ahead of her. It is the only Twinkie near her reach. She lunges for it, only to collide and smash her head against someone else's. Atlantis reels back on her knees and grips her head in pain. An object falls to the floor and makes a small clank sound. She mutters some curses in Atlantean. She looks up to see America also on his knees and grabbing his head in pain.

America opens his eyes and blinks a bit. He removes his hands to search the floor. "Hey dude, I know we're supposed to be fighting for that Twinkie but can you help me find my glasses?" Atlantis blinks in surprise. She didn't expect to find him here. Then again, she did find him by accident on Black Ops Wi-Fi battles, so anything is possible. "Yes, I'll help America." Atlantis sees his glasses and picks it up.

America gives a huge smile and brightens. "Is that you Atlantis? I didn't expect to see you here!" She gives a nod but realizes he probably cannot see that. "I've found your glasses. Hold still so I can put it on." America holds still as she puts his glasses on him. Once it's on, he stands up and holds out his hand for her to grab.

"Are ya here for the Twinkies too Lanti?" asks America. Atlantis grabs his outstretched hand and stands up with his help. Her other hand clutches her black bag. She nearly forgot about it during the commotion. She doesn't want to lose it. Atlantis reaches the top of her head and sighs in relief. Even with the collision, her crown is still on. "Yes, I am. I never knew there were so many…..loyal fans…"

America grins and rubs the back of his head. "Well yeah, Twinkies is an iconic brand in America. Tasty too." The Atlantean frowns. She didn't know about the popularity of Twinkies. She never even give a thought if it was famous.

"Ever since the bankruptcy announcement, Twinkie fans have been buying loads of Twinkies to last for years," America eagerly pours out the crucial information. "They're nearly sold out everywhere in only two days."

Atlantis takes a step back in shock. She's horrified at this new –to her anyway- discovery. If what America is saying is true, then she has a very little chance of finding her Twinkies! She'll never be able to eat those delicious sponge cakes ever again. _"Oh why didn't I savor the last Twinkie I ate!"_

America, failing to read the atmosphere, hits his fist on his open palm. "Why don't we team up? We'll for sure find some Twinkies if we do!" He grins, seemingly waiting for her reaction. Atlantis considers his proposition.

Team up equals alliance.

Atlantis loves how her mind works. She'll make some progress with this alliance crap her boss demands that she do, 'hang out' with America (that phrase still sounds strange to her) _and _find those Twinkies. What is that idiom her boss always spouts? "_Oh, yes! Killing three birds with one stone." _Well, she believes the expression is right anyways. She grins and claps her hands.

"Of course." At that moment, she recalls the Twinkie she lunged for earlier. Atlantis panics and looks to the floor. She hopes they didn't squish it when they collapsed on the ground earlier. She looks in time to see a little red-haired girl with freckles bend down and snatches it away. The little girl gives an innocent smile and walks away. "Brother, I found a Twinkie! Let's eat it."

The red-haired girl holds hands with her brother and walk towards to cashiers. Atlantis gazes with awe at the little girl. She gives a small squeal. "_She's so adorable! Her freckles look so cute when she smiles. I want to hug her." _Atlantis does her best to restrain herself. The girl taking her target is forgotten in her mind.

America gets in front of her face and snaps his fingers. "Earth to Lanti, are you there?" Atlantis snaps out of her gaze and blushes. She hardly notices the distance between their faces. She feels embarrassed for being caught in her 'mother mode.' "Sorry about that…" says Atlantis awkwardly.

Atlantis is used to babysitting the future heirs to the throne in her country. She's their bodyguard/babysitter/instructor. Yes, it's tiring, but their cuteness is worth it. The Atlantean can hug them whenever she pleases and no one will say anything.

America grabs her arm and carefully navigates around the huge spill. "That's okay," America guides them around the aisles towards the exit. "Here's the plan, I'm gonna be the hero and you're my sidekick. We'll find the Twinkies for sure!" America, using his unoccupied arm, pumps his fist into the air. Atlantis grimaces in annoyance. There's no way in hell she's going to be anyone's _sidekick_. She wants to be the ringleader, dammit!

"Instead of running around New York blindly, let's do some research to decide which stores still have Twinkies."

America pauses and seems to take this into consideration. "But that doesn't sound very heroic." Atlantis almost facepalms at this. She can't believe he's thinking about being heroic with a crisis like this. "The Twinkies are on the line. It's time to take some action, Mr. Hero."

America grins positively. "You're right, Lanti! We don't have much time!" He grabs her arms and pulls her past the cashiers. Atlantis inwardly smirks. When in trouble, always stroke a man's ego.

When they're almost outside of the store, they notice a man talking to a police officer. Atlantis lingers, she's curious about what they're discussing. America stops pulling her arm. He looks at the pair, too.

The man appears in a panic while the police officer is trying to calm him down. "I'm telling you officer; the ice machine mysteriously gushed out gallons of water! I don't know how the hell this happened!" The police officer tries to calm him down.

"It's okay, sir. We'll get to the bottom of this."

"What if I get sued by my customers?! I can't afford any lawsuits!" says the hysterical manager.

The officer lays a hand on the manager's shoulder. "Don't worry; when we find out whose responsible, we'll take them to court." The officer beckons to the other officers talking to the customers. "We'll gather all the witnesses and find out what happened."

Atlantis takes this as her cue to leave. She doesn't want to waste time in her Twinkie hunt. Plus, she didn't want to risk being suspected. Looking back, she possibly looked a little suspicious by the way she walked from the Twinkie pyramid. And her evil grin in the after match didn't help either…. She's definitely going to avoid New York for a few weeks. (Or when this accident dies down. Either way works to her favor.) She gets a firm hold on America's wrist and tugs him outside.

"Let's go America." He refuses to budge. "We need to stay and give our witness accounts." He looks pretty serious about this. Atlantis pales. She's definitely never telling America she caused the accident. She's sure he'll be angry with her. Looks like she has another secret to carry on for the rest of her existence. One too many in her opinion.

Atlantis gives another tug. She puts on her sly, soothing voice to convince him to leave. "Did you forget about the Twinkies already? We don't have much time." She pretends to look on the verge of tears. "I wish to eat the last Twinkies before they're sold out." America looks almost convinced. His eyes still lingers to the other police officers taking witness accounts.

"We can report our witness accounts to the police after we're done. It won't take long." Okay, maybe Atlantis is wrong about the 'it won't take long' part. She's not going to tell him this, though. She hopes the American forgets about this incident by the time they're done with their Twinkie quest.

"Okay, but we're so going to do this after we're done," says America. He grins and leads the way outside. Atlantis follows his lead with some difficulty. She's almost tripping over her own feet since he's walking too fast. "Hey Lanti, I know the perfect place nearby to do our research." Atlantis lightens up.

_"This might be America's best idea in a long time."_

* * *

They're sitting in a crowded Starbucks hunched in their seats staring at their computer screens. Atlantis sips her chocolate latte and sighs. She sets down the latte and readies her index fingers over the keyboard. The golden-eyed woman is frustrated with herself. She still has difficulty using a computer. Luckily, she didn't have to turn it on. She didn't want to embarrass herself asking for help turning on a computer. (Zale laughed his ass off the last time she asked.)

Atlantis didn't know how to search for information on this infernal device. It's supposed to have almost every single piece of information in the world, yet she wasn't sure how to get access to it. She prefers skimming through large scrolls and books than this! It's not as if she grew up with computers already invented!

Yes, she did research technology up to the current date. She wants to be informed and knowledgeable about it. The Atlantean didn't want to be known as a developing third world country to her fellow country representatives. That would be a huge blow to her pride. It doesn't mean she's an expert with today's technology. (Research equals more television time….) The idea of a touch screen still fascinates her.

Atlantis glances to America to see how he's doing so far. She pauses and narrows her eyes. America is on a website called 'Ebay.' It didn't look like an informative website to her. It had several pictures of Twinkies and Twinkie products. It looks more like a page of pretty pictures.

Atlantis coughs into her hand to catch his attention. He didn't even blink. "America, what are you doing?" America stops scrolling the page and grins at her. He signals with his hand to lean more forward. She does so and waits for an explanation.

America uses the mouse to highlight an image of a box of Twinkies. "Let's order a bunch of Twinkies! It'll last for years." Atlantis nearly head-desks his key board. She couldn't believe he thought that myth is real. Then again, this is America she is talking about.

America looks him in the eyes and blandly says, "Twinkies become stale after 25 days. Trust me, they don't taste good." She cringes as she remembers the first, and last, time she ate a stale Twinkie. One of her maids told her about this urban myth and she didn't believe her. So, the water elemental left a Twinkie on her desk in her work-study for over 25 days. Let's just say she nearly broke her teeth from her attempt. She never lets a Twinkie go stale ever since. "It's better to eat it as soon as possible."

America nods and returns to his computer screen. He opens a different website page. "I found a supermarket nearby that still has Twinkies," America grins in triumph. "Let's go over there right away." Atlantis also grins in happiness.

"What are we waiting for? Lead the way!" They both dash outside, dodging angry customers cursing at them to watch where they're going. Atlantis didn't give a damn. She has a quest to complete.

Atlantis and America are standing outside Fairplace Market. They're both pumped to complete their quest and win some glorious Twinkies! When they enter, the Twinkies are nowhere in plain sight. It looks like they're going to have to look for them.

America looks in both directions and pats her shoulder. He gives her a happy grin. "Let's split up. I look in the left half while you explore the other half." Atlantis nods in agreement. They go their separate ways to begin their search. She takes a few steps but realizes something. They could have asked an employee where the Twinkies were in the first place. She quickly turns around and says, "Wait Amer-" She stops when she doesn't see America in her line of sight.

She sighs in disappointment. "_I'll find him later." _Atlantis sees an employee in an orange smock glumly mopping the floor. She walks over to him and catches his attention. "Excuse me sir, do you know where the Twinkies are?" He frowns further and points to the direction America ran off to. "Yup, it's right over there. Just take a right at aisle 7." Atlantis gives her thanks and follows his directions. It appears she's meeting up with America sooner than she thought.

Right when she makes a right turn in aisle 7, she sees America on his knees…..pantsing an old woman's long skirt…..with some shoppers staring at them. Luckily, the old woman is wearing a pair of pants. Atlantis didn't process it for a moment. But when she did, she clasps her hands over her mouth. She couldn't believe America was _this_ kind of guy. She would think a perverted hooligan would be capable of doing this, not him. Her respect for the American is going down the drain now.

America, with wide eyes, is still on his knees with his outstretched arms latched on the woman's skirt. The gray-haired woman, horrified and embarrassed, squeezes her purse in anger. She tries to squirm away but couldn't with America's iron grip on her skirt. She almost trips on her own skirt. America stares wide-eyed and stutters. "L-Look lady I-I w-wouldn't do this t-to an o-old p-person."

The old woman's face becomes red with anger. "I'm not _pretty_ and _young_ enough to be pansted, huh?" America looks at his hands and quickly let's go, blushing. He stands up and blabbers out almost incoherent apologies. "I'll call the cops on you pervert!" The old woman lifts her purse and smacks him upside the head with each word. America holds his head in pain.

The woman (finally) pulls up her skirt. She leaves with a huff and slyly flips her purse over her shoulder. The purse hits America again with a loud smack before it settles peacefully by the old lady.

The old woman takes her cart and leaves for the next aisle. Atlantis overcomes her shock and storms over to America. The American stops rubbing his check and smiles at her presence. "Hey Lan-" Atlantis interrupts him with a slap using her purse. America whines at her. "What was that for Lanti?"

Atlantis holds in her furry. She couldn't believe he was so nonchalant about pulling down a woman's skirt. The nerve of him! "How could you pull down a woman's skirt?! I thought you were better than that!" Atlantis fumes and clutches her purse. If she didn't like his excuse, he's getting another hit.

America frantically waves his hands in front of his face. "You saw that- w-wait don't smack me again! I can explain!" He sees her ready to aim her purse for another strike. Atlantis taps her foot. She's waiting for a good explanation.

America starts explaining his story with numerous hand gestures. It turns out, America bumped into a guy as he was looking for the Twinkies. The guy had two guy friends hanging out with him. When they found out that America was looking for the Twinkies too, they got a little aggressive. When America had his back turned, one of them kicked him behind the knees.

America fell down on his knees and latched out his hands to find something to hold on to. He didn't want to fall on his face. He, unfortunately, got an iron grip on an old woman's skirt and pulled it down to her knees by accident. He tried to explain but the woman kept yelling at him.

Atlantis looks America in the eyes. He seemed to be sincere and truthful throughout the explanation. (And very embarrassed too.) At least the pansted thing didn't happen to her, or else it would take a while for her to forgive him. She's wearing a skirt too. She smiles at him as she puts her purse strap on her shoulder. "It's not like you did that intentionally. You tried to apologize but the woman wouldn't let you."

Atlantis smiles weakly. "I apoligize for hitting you. I should have-"

America gives a large smile and tackle-glomps her. Atlantis blushes badly from the close contact. She's not used to this much physical contact, excluding the royal children.

America's strong grip prevents her from making any escape attempts. "Thanks Lanti! By the way, you have a strong-arm dude!" Atlantis decides to do a different tactic. She gives him a weak hug back. Hopefully this action would make the hug stop sooner. It's getting kind of hard to breathe now. Sadly, this only encourages him to tighten his hug. "D_ammit, where's England to yell at America when I need him to."_

He laughs in happiness. "Looks like we're making some progress; you're hugging me back now." Atlantis struggles to breathe. She needs air in her lungs, immediately. A middle-aged woman walks by with a fangirl-ish smile and gleam in her eyes.

The woman clasps her hands and gushes. "What an awesome boyfriend! I wish mine gives me hugs like that." Atlantis nearly faints from shock. She doesn't know how much longer she'll last. That woman's comment made her realize how scandalous this looks like. She blushes an even brighter red. Her blush is putting Spain's tomatoes to shame.

America lets go and looks at her worriedly. "Are ya alright? Do you need to lie down?" Atlantis greedily gulps in the fresh air and shakes her head. "I'm fine." America grins and grabs her hand.

America points towards the back of the store and exclaims, "The Twinkies are over there, let's get them!" He pulls her along with excitement. Atlantis is nearly dragged as she tries to keep up with him. She's getting used to being dragged around everywhere by him. It's a new factor in her life. She would love to pull her arm from his grip, but she can't. He's way stronger than an ox! She then processes his words. She couldn't believe she almost forgot about the Twinkies. What's wrong with her?

When they see the Twinkie stand, America and Atlantis stare at it disappointed. An empty stand has an "Out of Twinkies Forever" sign. They're too late; all the Twinkies are gone. Atlantis sighs and weaves her hand through her hair. "Looks like those boys took all the Twinkies." America nods miserably. They walk sadly shoulder to shoulder out the supermarket. They groan again.

Atlantis hears laughter and looks up to see a bunch of guys on motorcycles. A guy waves to them and holds up grocery bags stuffed with Twinkies. "First come, first serve losers." He hangs the bags on the motorcycle handles and laughs manically. The other guys join the laughter. They speedily drive away into the night with dust trailing behind them.

Atlantis is disappointed they lost the Twinkie hunt to those assholes. She would have rather lost to a bunch of children than them. A man with a dark cloak, with his hood covering his face, approaches them. "You like Twinkies right?" Atlantis gives a small nod.

The cloaked man grins. "I have a make-your-own Twinkie box. It has instructions on how to make your own Twinkies." Atlantis, exhausted from an extensive quest, becomes slightly interested. With the Twinkie formula, she can make her damn Twinkies whenever she felt like it.

The cloaked man walks backwards with his hand gesturing her to follow him into an ally. He gives her a sly grin. "Follow me into my…office. You can pay for it there." Atlantis' common sense comes crashing back to her. There's no way in hell she's going to follow a shady, and creepy, cloaked guy into an ally. That screams "mug me" to her.

She suddenly feels an arm wrap around her shoulder. She finds the owner and sees America glaring at the man. "Back off from my cousin, you creeper." The cloaked man raises an eyebrow at him."She doesn't look like yo-"

Atlantis quickly cuts him off. She wraps her arm around America's waist. "I was twice removed." The cloaked takes a few steps back from America's glare. He becomes frightened and scrams into the dark alley.

Atlantis drops her arm from his waist. "Thanks a lot. That man was too creepy." America beams. "It was nothing."

The same middle-aged woman from before walks next to her taps her shoulder.

The middle-aged woman smiles kindly at them. "If it's Twinkies you want, there's this little café across the street that's selling Twinkie shakes." She points across the street to the Cupcake Café. "It's genuine Twinkies meshed together to make shakes. I know it's not the same as eating it, but it's something right?"

Atlantis clasps her hands in excitement. Even though it's not wrapped Twinkies, it's still real Twinkies. Maybe this quest wasn't a failure after all! She looks to America to see if he wants to try those shakes.

America sprints across the street to the café. Atlantis shakes her head. "_America must_ _love Twinkies as much as I do, if not more."_ She gives her thanks to the woman and follows after him. "Wait for me!"

Atlantis bursts through the door and pauses to look in awe at the café's decor. It looked like a mini candy land in here. The café is small with a long counter looking like a very long banana split with cherry-shaped stools. Several fliers occupied the walls promoting the café's limited offer of Twinkie shakes. The ice cream cookie sandwich-shaped sofas look good enough to eat.

America gives the cashier the money and turns to see her. America grins and sets the shakes on the counter. He sits down on a stool and pats the seat next to him. Atlantis walks over and sits next to him.

America hands her a shake. "Got you a shake Lanti. I don't know how many calories are in this thing." He laughs nervously. Atlantis watches with amusement. Did he honestly think she would be concerned about how many calories were in it? She didn't care. She wants to drink her shake.

Atlantis takes the shake and laughs. "If I was concerned about calories then why would I plan to buy large loads of Twinkies and eat it within the same hour?" America laughs with her. He stops to drink his shake.

Atlantis takes a sip of the Twinkie shake. The woman wasn't lying about the shake. She could tell these were real Twinkies in it. She takes a peek at America and sees him gulping down his drink. He gives a burp and rubs his belly in satisfaction. She giggles while trying to cover her mouth.

America slumps in his seat. "I would've bought more but these two shakes were the last ones." Atlantis tries to make the situation more positive.

"At least we got one last taste before Twinkies went extinct."

America nods his head in agreement. "Yeah, and our quest wasn't a total failure." He holds out his hand in the air. "Give me five my awesome sidekick."Atlantis is flattered at America's compliment. But she blinks and stares at his hand.

She's confused on what she's supposed to do. "_Is it a greeting sign? We don't need to say hi again, do we?" _America shakes his hands to emphasize his point. "You're supposed to hit my hand with yours."

The Atlantean hesitantly holds out her hand and gently smacks it against his. America shakes his head. "Not like that! Put more enthusiasm into it! Like this" America smacks his hand against hers with more force. Atlantis mutters an "okay." They hold out their hands together and do a 'proper' high five.

With their hands down, America speaks up again. He gives a big smile. "You know Lanti I had a really fun day today, even though we didn't buy any Twinkies. We need to hang out more often. It's fun hanging out with my best friend." Atlantis feels elated. She has a new best friend now. She has the female countries and America as her best friends. They're not irritated or fearful of her like her fellow citizens. She feels a little pathetic about feeling giddy over making friends.

Fuck that, she has a new best friend. She smiles too. "I feel the same way."

America stands up. He slightly turns his head to look at her. "Come on Lanti, sleepover and Call of Duty marathon at my place. You promised~ " Now that Atlantis thinks about it, she didn't bother reserving a room at any hotels. Or buy any extra clothes...

Atlantis power walks ahead of him. "I did, didn't I? Let's go."

Sure America is really immature and loud, but he means well. He's really thoughtful when he wants to be. He paid for her shake, saved her from the creepy cloaked guy, and offered her a place to stay for the night. Atlantis doubts he knows it, but he helped her remember how to have fun without manipulating anyone for her own selfish purpose. He really is the hero he always claims he is.

Since she's in a good mood, she's not going to fire her incompetent maids and butlers when she returns home.

* * *

It's been a month since the Twinkie quest. All of the Twinkies have been sold out everywhere. News of a company buying the recipe and selling it brings her hope that Twinkies will one day make a comeback.

Atlantis is the world conference meeting glad that it's over. The meeting just ended and she's preparing to leave. Just as she places all of her paperwork into her briefcase, she sees Spain with a…..Twinkie…in….his…hand.

Her eyes widen in shock. She has to know where he got that Twinkie! She glides over to him and smiles. "Hello Spain, sorry to be too forward but, where did you get that Twinkie?" Spain cheerfully points to his 'Twinkie.'

"Oh this? It's not a Twinkie, it's a _Submarino_. Here, take a bite." Spain holds out his Submarino to Atlantis. Atlantis isn't sure about this. Sure, he didn't take a bite out of it, but it feels she's being rude. "I do not know If I should-" She's cut off by Spain shoving the Submarino in her mouth. She takes a huge bite and tries not to choke on it.

It doesn't taste like a Twinkie. The sponge cake is thicker to what she's used to eating. The filling tastes more like strawberries. She thanks Spain for the Submarino. Spain smiles and hands her another Submario from his jacket. "Take it, there's plenty in the supermarkets. Goodbye chica." Spain leaves the meeting room gushing over Romano. Romano curses and screams at the 'Tomato bastard.'

Atlantis stares at the Submarino in her hand, deciding what to do with it. She then decides to give it to America. It'll be a nice gift. She spots America leaving the room. She hurries and catches up with him. "America, I want you to try this." America turns around and looks at the Submarino surprised.

"Is that a-"

"No, it's called a Submarino."

America stares for a moment, than erupts in laughter. "A Mexican Submarine. Good one Atlantis. Seriously, what's it called?"

Atlantis stares blankly at him. The words that comes out of this man's mouth never ceases to surprise her. Then again, it's amusing sometimes. Atlantis passes the Submarino to him. "Please try it. It'll be a decent substitute until Twinkies comes back."

America grins and wolfs it down. He replies, "You're right, let's eat some more Mexican Submarines until Twinkies come back. There's already companies bidding for the Twinkie recipe, so I know Twinkies will be sold again." Atlantis practically laughs.

"Yes, let's eat some more submarines until then."

America seems to have remembered something. "Hey Lanti, I almost forgot, let's fill out those police reports."

_"Fuck my life. Those cops better not start suspecting her, or else shit will happen."_

* * *

**Why are Atlanteans fearful of royally pissing off Atlantis? It will be revealed in a later chapter. :D **

**I'm kinda sad I didn't get to post a Valentines special chapter. But I'll post a late chapter later.**

**I know all the other Hostess brands went out of stock as well as Twinkies. I put more of a focus on Twinkies because it's Atlantis' favorite snack. :D **

**The Twinkie myth is not real. After a long time -25 days- Twinkies harden and become stale. You can still eat it, but it won't taste good.**

**Klismos is a type of chair invented sometime around ancient times. Furniture was not originally made for comfort. It was made for a single purpose. For example, tables were only used to eat food. You don't place other objects on it, at all. **

_**Kourabiedes**_** is a type of greek cookie. **

**I chose Atlantis to be hidden around the Pillars of Hercules. There is the Gibraltar pillar on the shore of Spain and the Jebel Musa Pillar in Northern Africa. These pillars mark the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea.**

**Submarinos are real. You can find them in Mexican supermarkets. Go buy some Mexican Submarines, people. :D The sponge cake is thicker on the inside.**

**Any questions? Don't hesitate to ask. I don't bite. :)**


	4. Part 1: Curing a Broken Heart

**Here is the next chapter of Adapting to Modern Times. :D I'm curious, does anyone even like this story? I can't tell because of the lack of reviews. I would love to hear some feedback.**

* * *

Atlantis is sitting in her boss' office waiting to be scolded. Her boss' blue eyes are glaring at her from his oak desk. His fingers drum his desk in frustration. The other hand roughly weaves through his white beard. The wrinkles on his face are more prominent, loudly broadcasting his age of 150 years old.

King Cyril stops and gives a sigh. He continues glaring, irritated. "Atlantis, my pilot and sources have told me you high jacked my plane for your quest for…..Twinkies." The old king looks at her in disbelief. Atlantis shuffles in her seat nervously. Throughout her Twinkie quest, she forgot to think about the consequences she'll face for taking his private jet without permission. Come on, he has plenty of private jets, how is he going to miss one measly jet? It's not like she took the one with the Jacuzzi and supermodels: that's his favorite jet.

Atlantis doesn't want to piss him off too bad. If she does, she'll be thrown into the kraken pit….again. She's not in the mood to fight off against angry krakens. Those krakens are still furious from the last time she was thrown in that pit. She's starting to regret all the trash talk she did. Plus, the yo mama jokes she learned from America didn't help either. Oh the things she learns from America…

King Cyril snaps his fingers. He has this strange, calculating look in his eyes. "Since you're my country, I'll forgive you for the Twinkie incident." Atlantis stares at him with skepticism. She's wondering who the hell she's talking to right now. This is not her grumpy and sinister boss. Her real boss would be scolding and yelling at her by now. He looks very suspicious.

The Atlantean king pulls a drawer and places a sheet of paper on his desk. "Your half birthday is coming up right? I'll give you your own private jet," The king grins as he grabs a pen. "It'll have a Jacuzzi and sexy butlers~" Atlantis is becoming more freaked out by every word that's coming out of his mouth. Her boss would never, _ever_, celebrate her birthday. If he even bothered, it would be an I-owe-you note. Heck, she doesn't even remember when her own birthday is.

Tony, America's alien friend, must have abducted her boss and probed him. It's the only explanation. That or he has an ulterior motive. She'll go with the latter. It sounds more logical and less of a conspiracy theory.

Atlantis eyes the paper on his desk, seeing him smoothing out the paper and grinning at it made her curious. King Cyril hands her the paper. "I'm going to pass a law limiting our country's exposure to the outside world. I want to have your approval on this. Please sign your name on the dotted line." He hands her a pen and she takes it.

Atlantis narrows her eyes in suspicion, her cynical side revealing itself. She refuses to sign anything unless she's allowed to read everything. Yes, even the fine print. She learned the hard way that signing anything blindly leads to disasters….and riots: lots and lots of riots. She has to know how her citizens will react if this law became enacted. She doesn't want to be blamed if it's awful. Atlantis takes the magnifying glass off the table and starts reading.

The king rolls his eyes. "It's not bad, Atlantis. It'll protect our citizens from dangerous influences. You don't want the mentally unstable citizens to get any bad ideas, do you?" Atlantis catches on to what he's implying. The nerve of him! Trying to make her feel guilty and responsible for her 'failure' to sign his law. Atlantis looks up from the paper. "It's a precaution I must take, your highness. Surely, you must understand this is a protocol I must follow." King Cyril unenthusiastically nods.

Atlantis feels she has a right to be wary. "_Why would he want –no need- my approval for this law?"_ It's not like it's her job to sign laws. (It's rare for that to happen.) That's her boss' job. Her instincts are going berserk. Something must be wrong with this law.

And that's when she finds it with her magnifying glass. A handful of lines stating her boss can limit her citizens' rights when and however he sees fit. Atlantis boils in rage. No wonder he wants her approval. Without it, her citizens will outright protest it. With her signature, Atlanteans will be too afraid to show their outrage in public.

Atlantis slams her fist on the desk. She is very angry with her boss now. No way is she going to be polite and ladylike and let this slide. "Atlanteans will never accept this! They hate absolute monarchy," Atlantis rudely points her index finger at him. "It's your duty to protect their rights, not repress them!" Technically, what little rights they do have. The king chuckles and walks around the desk.

Atlantis stands up and stares into his eyes. They engage in an intense glaring match. "This is a new era Atlantis, a time for change." He breaks eye contact and paces away from her. "After learning about that damn _America-_" he spits out the American's name in disgust. "My people are getting restless."

Atlantis doesn't appreciate her boss bashing America. He's her friend, and she cannot stand there and do nothing. "America is not a bad person. He's-" Atlantis is abruptly cut off by her boss' glare.

"That bastard America has caused me nothing but trouble. My people want more freedom of speech and equality." Atlantis figured out his motive. He's afraid his power is slowly starting to slip away. He's desperately trying to keep a hold on his power. "Because of his democracy preaching, my citizens are demanding more rights." His eyes are wild like an untamed animal.

King Cyril paces back to his desk but trips on his rug. He does a faceplant and stays sprawled on the ground. Atlantis sighs in annoyance. She can't wait until her boss' son inherits the throne. She hates dealing with the king's ridicules antics. He's too old for his job now.

King Cyril brings back Atlantis' attention. "Help me up from the floor dammit! My back hurts like a bitch!" He rubs his back and whines to emphasize his point. Atlantis scowls at his disrespect. Past kings of Atlantis were formal and majestic. King Cyril is the total opposite. He's more like a child ruling a kingdom who she has to babysit. "_The shit I have to do for this man."_

Atlantis reluctantly helps him from the ground. Even though she was raised to respect her elders, there's no way in hell she's showing respect to this man. If her boss refuses to show her any respect she'll do the same. It's not like he can fire her or anything. She's Atlantis! She can take down those krakens, yo mama yokes or not. She gives him a glare. "Shut up and stop complaining!" King Cyril puffs up his cheeks and sits back at his desk.

Atlantis wants to leave the room immediately. She doesn't want to deal with her childish boss any longer. "I'm going to Japan with Lichtenstein. I'm going to go meet her now," she slowly says.

"Remember to make some alliances you slacker. It'll be good for our country." The Atlantean king mumbles as he flips through the pages. Atlantis gives one last glare before leaving the room with style. She slams the door on her way out. She wants to do the most dramatic exit possible. Nothing riles him up worse than melodramatic door slams.

The golden-eyed woman claps her hands in excitement. She can't wait to meet up with Lichtenstein. She's so adorable and huggable.

* * *

After checking in her luggage, Atlantis trudges through a crowded airport looking for Lichtenstein. She regrets hastily leaving her boss. The Atlantean doesn't own a jet. Maybe she shouldn't have crashed that one jet. King Cyril doesn't trust her after that incident. Ever since, she always has to borrow one of her boss' jets. She never had to go to airports, until now. She could have bargained to get a jet…..and those sexy butlers.

Atlantis spies Lichtenstein standing by the elevators looking glum. She approaches her and ruffles her hair. The Atlantean smiles. "Greetings Lichtenstein, how are you today?" Lichtenstein gives a weak smile and nods. "I'm okay. Let's go to our flight."

Atlantis drops her smile and frowns. She's a little worried about Lichtenstein. She wonders what could have made her so gloomy. "Are you sure? You look a little down to me." Lichtenstein grabs her hand and gives a more convincing smile this time. "Don't worry about it Atlantis, I'm okay."

Lichtenstein starts guiding her to the security checkpoint. They walk around people rushing past them with suitcases and screaming children. Atlantis then realizes something very important. She curious about where Switzerland is. Switzerland follows Lichtenstein almost everywhere like a loyal guard dog. It is strange to not see him around Lichtenstein when he's supposed to be with her.

_"Maybe he's in the restroom? If so, why are they not waiting for him? She's sure Lichtenstein_ _mentioned he was going to join her on the trip."_

"Lichtenstein, where's Switzerland? I thought he is joining us on the trip," asks Atlantis. Lichtenstein's smile drops and finds the floor more interesting to look at. "He…couldn't make it." Lichtenstein hesitantly replies. Atlantis shouldn't be happy about this, but she is. She masks her glee with a fake look of remorse.

It's not like she hates him or anything. (Okay, he scares her a bit when he nonchalantly points his guns at people.) She did some research and found that it's illegal to carry guns in Japan, unless it's for hunting purposes or something similar. She doesn't want to get arrested because he starts shooting at people for being too close to Lichtenstein. She shudders.

Atlantis and Lichtenstein stand in line for the security checkpoint. Lichtenstein removes her shoes and sets it in the box on the conveyor belt. Lichtenstein repeats this action with her small bags. Atlantis mimics Lichtenstein's actions since the Liechtensteinian knows more about airport procedures than she does.

As soon as Atlantis finishes setting her bag on the conveyor belt, she observes the little country being pulled over after walking through the metal detector. Atlantis thinks this is strange but ignores it. She casually walks through the metal detector and grabs her bags. She turns and nearly drops her bags in shock.

She sees a man groping Lichtenstein's stomach! Lichtenstein squeaks as she faces in any direction but the TSA agent. Lichtenstein blushes pretty badly from embarrassment.

Atlantis enters mother mode. She turns red with rage and briskly walks to the TSA agent. He remarks, "Are you hiding something-" He's interrupted by a front kick to his side from Atlantis. The TSA agent falls harshly to the ground a few feet away from the two countries.

He groans in pain and grasps his waist. "Shit. What hit me?" Atlantis roughly grabs him by his uniform collar, ready to scream to his face.

Atlantis shakes his collar in rage."Pedophile! Child molester! How dare you grab a child _there_, especially in public! Have you no shame young man?" Her menacing glare scares the man to death. The young man shakes in fear. He mutters incoherent words, which causes an extra slap on the head.

"I-It's procedure ma'am. A-All the other f-female agents a-are on b-break right now, I s-swear!" The agent cowers in fear.

Atlantis gives him another slap. "You have cougar agents too?! What kind of sick airport is this!"

"It's for s-security p-purposes ma'am. We're not t-trying to be perverted!"

Atlantis smirks in triumph. "A-ha! You admitted it! TSA agents _are _perverts in disguise. I sense a conspiracy theory!" The other passengers cheer in the background. Screams of "I knew it" Echo throughout the room. The passengers become unruly and restless after all the commotion Atlantis is making. The workers try to prevent the passengers from rioting.

"Where are the security guards when I need them," the man screams.

The two security guards snap out of their shock and move in to arrest Atlantis. She shoves the man away from her and gets into her battle stance, clutching her bag and ready to strike with it. She smirks, ready for them to make the first move. She hasn't had a decent fight in three centuries.

Lichtenstein jumps in front of Atlantis. "Please stop fighting!" The security guards pause to avoid running in Lichtenstein. Atlantis lets the adrenaline leave her body. She couldn't believe she was about to fight in front of Lichtenstein. She feels shameful of her actions.

The security guards walk past Lichtenstein. Each security guard grabs Atlantis by her arms. One of the men coughs into his hand. "Ma'am, we're going to have to arrest you now for assaulting a TSA agent."

Lichtenstein panics and grabs the guard's sleeve. The small country tears up. "Please don't arrest her. She doesn't know about airport security." The guard doesn't look convinced by her plea.

He tries to gently pry off Lichtenstein. "Right…..who doesn't know about strict airport security these days," he says sarcastically. Lichtenstein refuses to budge and continues trying to pull his arm off from Atlantis.

"Lichtenstein, I'll be okay. I'll get this situation resolved," Atlantis says with a sheepish smile. Lichtenstein looks doubtful on whether the Atlantean will be okay or not.

Atlantis, trying to swing her purse strap onto her shoulder without her hands, strikes a conversation with the security guards. "Let's get this interrogation over with."

* * *

Atlantis and Lichtenstein manage to get onto the airplane on time despite the chaos the former created earlier. Atlantis is sitting next to the window with Lichtenstein sitting next to her eating airplane food.

Atlantis becomes comfy in her seat and gazes outside the window. She sees white, fluffy clouds slowly moving below the airplane. She can't even see the ground or cities because they are so far up in the sky. She never would have imagined man being able to invent transportation to fly among the birds.

"Atlantis, how did you get the guards to let you off so easily," Lichtenstein stops eating and says with curiosity written on her face. Atlantis smiles and pats Lichtenstein's shoulder.

"It was simple; I gave them some diamonds and they let me off with a warning," says Atlantis nonchalantly. Lichtenstein's eyes widen in shock. "You bribed them?"

Atlantis waves away Lichtenstein's reaction. "It wasn't a bribe; it was more of a present for being good, underpaid security guards."

"…..It's the same thing….." Lichtenstein gives her a scolding look. "You shouldn't bribe people. It's not right." Lichtenstein looks at her lap shyly. The blush on her face shows her embarrassment at her own boldness.

Atlantis chuckles in amusement. Even though Lichtenstein is several centuries old, she has the innocence of a child. Switzerland does an excellent job on conserving Lichtenstein's child-like innocence. Lichtenstein is persistent on staying good.

Atlantis' face darkens. "No one should inappropriately touch a child like that, no matter the reason."

Lichtenstein shakes her head, the ribbon on her head swaying with the movement. "He thought I was hiding something."

The cup of water set on the small table in front of Atlantis freezes. The cold air hovers over the cup. Neither of them takes notice.

An uncomfortable atmosphere sets in their aisle. The air becomes slightly colder. All the passengers, except Atlantis, wrap their arms around themselves and try to preserve their body heat. Lichtenstein shudders and tries to warm her hands.

Atlantis, uncaring of the awkward silence, grins and pats Lichtenstein's head. "What do you want to do when we get to Japan? It's the day after Valentine's Day so there still must be something to do. I think there are still activities for us singles." The airplane becomes a little warmer.

"Being single…" Lichtenstein gloomily says with her head on the palm of her hand.

Atlantis looks at her confused. "_Does she dislike being single?" _The golden-eyed woman gets a mischievous grin. The possibility of Lichtenstein having a lover sounds too good to be true. Maybe Lichtenstein is growing up.

Atlantis tries to bring some cheer to Lichtenstein. "Being single is not so bad. You can flirt with attractive men –or in your case boys- to your heart's desire with no commitment required." Lichtenstein starts crying into her hands. Her sobs sent Atlantis into a panic.

_"Shit. Belarus is harsh, but right. I suck at this romance crap. I don't know how to help broken-hearted people." _She received this remark –and a stab in her stomach- from Belarus after she commented on how she should try to find another man. It was Atlantis' first year back outside her country and she just had to say _that _to Belarus.

Let's just say there's no way Belarus is ever coming to her for help whenever Russia rejects her advances. (It's not like Belarus did so anyway.)

Now she understands why no one, except possibly Ukraine when she's brave enough, comments on Belarus' obsession of marriage with Russia.

She also learned another important lesson that day. Never tell Belarus anything she wouldn't like to hear; especially if she's holding a knife in her hand.

Atlantis clenches her fists as her mind goes into overdrive. "_I'm an insensitive prick! I might have sounded inconsiderate with the commitment comment. It's not like Lichtenstein is going to stab me like Belarus, right?" _Atlantis then freaks out again. "_She was raised by gun maniac Switzerland! She'll shoot me instead."_

Atlantis relaxes and pulls Lichtenstein into a hug. This is Lichtenstein she's talking about. She wouldn't shot anyone. "Did you have a lover?" The dark blue-haired woman is curious. The idea of Lichtenstein having a lover sounds so adorable. She imagines Lichtenstein shyly holding hands with a boy. It sounds so cute!

Lichtenstein whispers, "Well, there was this human boy I had a crush on for the past two years," Atlantis squeezes Lichtenstein's shoulder to encourage her to continue. "He came to big brother's house with flowers and….." Lichtenstein pauses to start sniffling. Atlantis rubs her back and manages to calm down the small country.

"and...and… Switzerland came and scared him away with his shot gun." Lichtenstein whimpers and keeps clinging to Atlantis, refusing to let go. "My crush doesn't want to talk to me anymore." This explains why Switzerland isn't joining them on this trip. Lichtenstein probably left him at the house and went to the airport alone.

Atlantis knows that he will shoot people off his lawn –as told by his 'survivors.'- but this has to be the cruelest thing he has done yet. She finds it hard to believe that Switzerland would do anything to hurt Lichtenstein: mentally or physically.

Atlantis decides to make it her goal to help Lichtenstein's broken heart. What better way to heal a broken heart than with chocolate?

* * *

Atlantis and Lichtenstein are standing outside a chocolate shop in Japan ready to go inside.

Lichtenstein looks at Atlantis in confusion. "Why are we outside of a chocolate shop, Atlantis?"

Atlantis beams. "Chocolate is perfect for recovering from heartbreak." Sadly, she knows this from experience when she was a younger country. She needed something to cheer her up from heart breaks. "I heard about this special chocolate shop from an associate of mine."

Lichtenstein stares at the window display filled with display stands holding delicious chocolate sculptures of hearts. "You're buying a chocolate heart sculpture?"

Atlantis shakes her head. "No, something even better. Now come, follow me." She enters the chocolate shop with Lichtenstein following close behind.

Atlantis strolls straight to the register, ready to ask for that special item. She can't wait to see the look on Lichtenstein's face when she sees it. Atlantis whispers into the cashier's ear and he nods.

He walks to the back of the store and Atlantis beckons Lichtenstein to follow him. The room is spotless with a three cylinder scanners reaching the ceiling and a small platform in the middle of the scanners. A printer and computers are on the other side of the room. The shopkeeper's assistant fumbles with his camera. As the man readies the scanners, Atlantis gestures for Lichtenstein to stand on the platform.

Lichtenstein nods and goes to stand at her designated spot. She stares at the Atlantean. "I thought you were getting chocolate?"

"I am. Just sit there and give the camera your beautiful smile." Atlantis says as she stands to the side of the scanner.

The shopkeeper finishes readying the scanners and his assistant stands in front of Lichtenstein with a camera. Lichtenstein smiles as the camera flashes.

The man nods and leaves to the computer. He inserts a plug into his computer and camera. "Miss, I have your other orders ready on the desk near the printer. It'll take a while to get these pictures ready for the chocolate."

Atlantis thanks the man and reaches the table with glee. Her chocolates are ready to go! She grins and calls Lichtenstein over to the table.

When Lichtenstein is at the table, she gasps in shock.

On the table are chocolate heads of the allies, axis, and several other countries on sticks. The 3-D chocolate heads varies in facial expressions. England has an angry face to Spain's cheerful one.

Atlantis becomes nervous. She doesn't take Lichtenstein's silence as a good sign. "_Maybe I should have bought normal chocolates."_

"While we were at the hotel, I heard about this place from Japanese locals and I had Hungary send me some pictures of all the male countries she has." Atlantis keeps talking as Lichtenstein picks up a chocolate head of Italy.

Atlantis picks up a Germany-chocolate head and plays with it. "I sent it to this shop and paid him to have it ready for today. I'm paying for everything, so you can make as many 3-D chocolate heads as you like."

Lichtenstein gives a soft smile and giggles. "You can stop rambling now. Thanks for going through all this effort for me. You don't have to do this."

Atlantis grins. "You're welcome; I want to make you happy again." Atlantis gives her chocolate a quick lick. "Besides, I want to do this. I have plenty of diamonds to spare. Let's get some more pictures." Lichtenstein finally gives into Atlantis' offer. Atlantis pops the Germany-chocolate head into her mouth and savors the taste. The chocolate tastes great!

Atlantis stands on the platform and smiles for the picture. Right when the picture is going to be taken, she glances at Lichtenstein licking a France-chocolate head. Atlantis snorts at the irony of it. Shame on her for her dirty mind.

The assistant waves her over to look at the camera. Atlantis nods and sees the picture…of her in mid-snort. It looks ridicules. Her lips are puckered up and her eyes are scrunched. Lichtenstein peers around her to look at the photo.

Lichtenstein laughs and points at it. "I have an idea. Let's take silly photos of ourselves. If that's alright with you." Atlantis laughs. Lichtenstein has a great idea. The chocolate will turn out hilarious if they do that.

Atlantis is glad Lichtenstein is having a good time. The Atlantean may not be an expert with love, but she's better at cheering up children.

"It's fine with me. Let's make as many as we want."

* * *

**That concludes part 1 of Atlantis and Lichtenstein's little trip vacation to Japan.**

**I'm sorry I took so long. So much homework and projects overwhelmed me. I decided to make two parts in order for these chapters to get out sooner. :(**

**I know that in the Disney Atlantis movie, the people live way longer than 150 years old. I wanted the age limit for Atlanteans to be around 170 years old. **

**On Valentine's Day in Japan, woman have an option to have their chocolate to look like their faces. You can Google the exact process and time it takes. It is strangely funny and creepy at the same time. xD**

**This must be my shortest author's notes at the end of the chapter yet. :0**


	5. Part 2: Atlantis is a Bad Influence

**Now here's part 2 to Atlantis and Lichtenstein's adventure in Japan. I hope everyone enjoys it. :D Please review! **

**There's going to be a slight Ouran High School Host Club crossover. Can you spot all the hosts? :)**

In their hotel room, Atlantis and Lichtenstein are on the bed playing with the 3-D chocolate heads of all the countries. Several of the chocolate heads, on napkins, are scattered all over the bed leaving small spaces for the females to sit on the bed.

Atlantis feels pretty accomplished. Lichtenstein seems to be happier from her heartbreak, but…

Atlantis peers into the small country's eyes. It still holds sadness and disappointment. Lichtenstein is taking the rejection to heart. She wonders what else she can do to help. The Atlantean is not very experienced with love. She needs an expert.

Atlantis picks up one of the chocolate heads and stares in thought. The first thought that went through her head is "_Who?_" Maybe Hungary gave her a picture of a random stranger? She doesn't recognize this man.

Atlantis points to the mysterious chocolate head. "Lichtenstein, do you recognize this man?"

Lichtenstein looks thoughtful, and then says, "No." Atlantis shrugs and eats it. This man tasted as good as he looks~

* * *

_Somewhere in Canada….._

Canada sneezes. He shudders at the sudden chill. The Canadian hugs Kumajro tighter. "I feel like someone made a perverted comment about me…"

Kumajiro softly nudges Canada's shoulder. "Who are you?"

Canada quietly sighs, "I'm Canada, your owner." The Canadian sets down Kumajiro and continues eating his pancakes. His shoulders slouch "Who would talk about me if they don't even know I exist?"

* * *

Lichtenstein bites off chocolate Switzerland's head. "Where are we going to next?"

Atlantis rubs her chin in thought. She grins and claps her hands once. "I know! Let's go to the park across the street. It looks beautiful."

Atlantis is interrupted by her cell phone. She fumbles through her skirt's pockets looking for her cell phone. She finds it and looks at the caller I.D. She scoffs: it's her boss. She's not going to answer him. She's still furious over their disagreement.

She angrily shoves her phone back into her pocket and gives a slight huff.

"Who was that Atlantis?" Lichtenstein asks curiously. Atlantis waves it off and lies, "Wrong number."

Atlantis grabs her bag and heads to the door. "Let's go have some fun." Atlantis walks out of the hotel room with Lichtenstein struggling to catch up. Lichtenstein hurriedly locks the door and rushes to catch up with Atlantis. "Wait for me!"

* * *

Lichtenstein shivers and hugs herself. "I think we go back to the hotel. It's late already."

Atlantis picks a red flower and reaches for Lichtenstein's hair. She places the flower behind her ear. "It's not too late to have some fun." In her opinion, Lichtenstein looks cute with the flower in her hair.

Atlantis and Lichtenstein stop halfway on the bridge and gaze into the clear water. The colorful koi fish splashed around and made ripples in the water. Atlantis licks her lips. She has never eaten koi fish before. Seafood is very popular in Atlantis. (The majority of the food is sea creatures. They're surrounded waterfalls, lakes, and mountains.) If Lichtenstein wasn't here, she would have used her water elemental powers to lift her tasty meal out of the water and into her mouth.

Lichtenstein sighs. "Atlantis, do you think big brother will forgive me? I left the house without him."

Atlantis snaps out of her fish daydreams. She tries her best to console her, "Of course he will. He can never stay mad at you." Lichtenstein still looks upset by the slouch of her shoulders. Atlantis muses in her mind anything activities that would cheer Lichtenstein up.

Maybe fishing for koi fish? No, that's what she wants to do. A toy store perhaps?

"Hello miss you don't look like you're around here."

Atlantis turns around and sees a short Japanese man with blue–she suspects it's dyed- hair. She gives a hesitant nod. The man smiles a creepy grin. "You speak English? That's great." The man tries to take a peek behind her. "Is that your daughter behind you?"

Lichtenstein clings to Atlantis' skirt. Lichtenstein cringes and mumbles, "This man feels creepy, can we leave please?" Atlantis couldn't help but agree with her. The "I love Americans" T-shirt gives off a creeper vibe.

Atlantis slowly, but gently, reaches behind her and signals the small country to walk backwards. When she couldn't feel Lichtenstein behind her anymore, she takes a few steps back as well. Atlantis moves her other hand onto the bridge's handrail.

"She's my niece," Atlantis swiftly lies. The man takes a step forward. "That's nice. Do you live around here?"

"No." Atlantis slowly glides her hand, looking for any dampness in the wood. Her fingers pause when she finds it. She gives a small smirk. Atlantis keeps her hand still, careful to keep both Lichtenstein and the man from seeing what she's doing. Atlantis wills the damp wood water to form into ice needles.

The short man stands a few centimeters from her face. "How about both of you be my penpals. You won't regret it."

With his eyes focusing on her, Atlantis shifts the ice needles between her fingers. "Find a real American, fool." Atlantis quickly hits his neck's pressure points with the ice needles. His eyes widen in shock. Atlantis quickly moves to the right and dodges his falling body.

The creepy man's body lays slump on the wooden bridge, unmoving.

Atlantis runs with agile and carries Lichtenstein bridle style while she runs off the bridge. Lichtenstein squeaks in surprise. "Wha-" Atlantis interrupts, "Sorry, I want to leave as fast as possible."

Lichtenstein struggles but manages to look over Atlantis' shoulder. The small country gulps, "D-Did you, you know, k-kill him?" Atlantis makes it out of the park and runs down a few blocks. Some of the people on the street stare after them but Atlantis ignores it.

Atlantis tries to calm her down. "Of course not, I'm not a killer." Okay, she killed hundreds of people, but she didn't need to know that. "I hit some pressure points, so he'll be unconscious for a couple of hours." When his body is discovered, people might think he's dead. His body is in a state that can be easily mistaken for death. Not her problem.

Atlantis stops in front of a fancy building with people waiting in line to get inside. Atlantis sets Lichtenstein down and sheepishly smiles, "I think we should head back to our room."

Lichtenstein nods. Atlantis couldn't help but feel someone is glaring at her. She shudders. It felt like a very, _very_ angry glare. Before the females can leave the area, a man in a suit grabs their arms. "Don't be shy and stand there all night, there's room in here for both of you."

Atlantis violently tries to pull her arm from his grip. "Unhand me mortal!" The man laughs off her comment. "Just between us, I'm going to let you inside without waiting in line. It looks like both of you have been through a rough time."

Lichtenstein asks, "What is this place?" The man smiles, "Why don't you find out for yourself?" He nudges them forward. Atlantis glares but opens the elegant golden doors. All of a sudden, she's hit with rose petals. Lots and lots of rose petals. Some of it even gets in her mouth. She ungracefully spits out the trapped rose petals.

A man dressed in a suit smiles at them. "Welcome to the Sakura Host Club, allow me to seat you with an available host." He leads the two countries past tables of single men surrounded by giggling woman. Atlantis feels a little nervous. She hopes they didn't walk into a strange club.

Atlantis murmurs to Lichtenstein, "Lichtenstein, do you know what a host club is?"

"No, but big brother told me to never go to one."

Atlantis does her best to hold herself together. If Switzerland tells Lichtenstein to not do something, chances are, it might be bad for the small country to be exposed to. Switzerland will be furious if he finds out she allowed Lichtenstein to experience this….host club. Judging by the looks of the woman nearly on top of a man's lap, host clubs are not making a very good first impression.

The escort bows and leads them to a blonde-haired man sitting on a plush sofa. The blue-eyed man pats the seats next to him. Atlantis and Lichtenstein warily sit on both sides of the man. Atlantis feels kind of awkward. She doesn't know what to say.

The man pulls a rose out of nowhere and hands it to Atlantis. "Hello princess, my name is Suoh Tamaki. May I ask for your name?"

Atlantis has a faint blush on her cheeks. She turns her head to the side. She's not used to men courting her. She's a very intimidating woman. (According to Atlantean males.) Men usually cower in fear in her presence.

"It's um-"

"Mr. Tamaki, what's a host club," questions Lichtenstein. Tamaki brightens. "A host club is where the handsomest boys with too much time on their hands entertain young ladies who also have way too much time on their hands." Tamaki hugs Lichtenstein in glee. "Just think of it as an elegant playground."

Lichtenstein blushes terribly. "P-Please let me go."

Atlantis lets out a sigh of relief. She didn't have a cover up name. It's not as though she can go around 'claiming' she's Atlantis. That's classified information that only the countries and their bosses themselves are allowed to know about. She should really get around to having a name in hand.

Tamaki tightens his hug. "You're so adorable, my daughter."

Atlantis narrows her eyes. She gets up to sit on the other side on Lichtenstein. She wraps her arms around Lichtenstein's waist, below Tamaki's arms. The Atlantean nuzzles her face into the blonde's hair. "Hands off, she's _my_ daughter."

Lichtenstein protests, "B-But, we're not related…."

Tamaki continues to snuggle Lichtenstein, ignoring Atlantis. "You remind me of my sweet Haruhi-chan~ So cute and innocent."

Atlantis smiles contently. "If I could, I would adopt you in a heartbeat." Atlantis wants children so badly now. She needs them to fill the void. She's suffering from empty nest syndrome, dammit! "The voiiiid."

Lichtenstein struggles for freedom. "Is this how host clubs are like?"

If host clubs allows her to hug adorable children -and not be accused of being a cougar- _and_ be courted by sexy men, that's fine with her. She should introduce host clubs in Atlantis. That'll be something fun to do in her spare, and lover-less, time.

A loud screech invades the host club.

"THERE YOU ARE MY PRECIOUS GIRLS."

Atlantis, startled, stops nuzzling Lichtenstein to see the crazy American-loving fanboy. "_What the- he's supposed to still be knocked out. There must be a term for Japanese citizens obsessed with Americans."_

"It's okay that you're British, I still love you girls either way." Crazy bastard. First he thought they were Americans, and now British? Does it sound like she has an accent like England?

He dashes for them but with Atlantis' quick thinking, she snags a nearby boy's cake and hurls it to the stalker's face. The cake hits the target, causing him to fall into another host's sofa. The woman shriek in fear.

"Takashi, she took my cake!"

Atlantis cups her hands and shout hollers, "Food fight!" American movies come in handy. She recalls scenes of American children screaming food fight in a school cafeteria. It's not the same situation as she's in, but hey, it's useful for escapes.

Two mischievous twins gather all the sweets at their table and hurls them at everyone around them. They also scream, "Food fight!"

The host club crumbled into chaos. Hosts and guests propped up tables for cover. Close friends betray each other to save themselves, and their dresses, from the oncoming hoard of sweets. While others joined in on the food fight.

With the stalker distracted by the chaos, Atlantis takes this opportunity to slip onto the floor, pulling Lichtenstein with her.

Atlantis starts army crawling past the toppled tables and plush sofas. "Follow me, Lichtenstein. We'll escape together."

Together, the two countries manage to army crawl past all their obstacles. (Although they do have cake stains on their clothing.) Once outside, they stand and give a sigh of relief.

Lichtenstein smiles widely, "Even though a creepy stranger hugged me, that was the most fun that I've had in a while." Lichtenstein takes a hold of Atlantis' hand and walks down the block. "Switzerland never lets me do this kind of stuff."

Atlantis uses her free arm to play with her blue crystal necklace. "Well, if you ever want to have rebellious fun, call me."

Lichtenstein points at a GameStop. "I'll be right back; I want to buy something quick." Before Atlantis can protest, Lichtenstein scurries into store.

Atlantis looks up to the sky. It was very dark now. They truly need to head back to the hotel now. She doesn't want to bump into anymore crazy people. They're everywhere, especially roaming the night for their prey.

Atlantis feels slight movement in her pocket. On instinct, the Atlantean grabs the person's arm, ready to throw them over her shoulder before she hears, "Atlantis, where is Lichtenstein. You're supposed to be with her."

Atlantis becomes immobilized. "_It can't be..."_

Atlantis shakily turns to see Switzerland impatiently standing there with a dark look on his face. Atlantis forces a smile on her face. "O-Oh hello Switzerland, nice meeting you here….in Japan." Oh Poseidon, Lichtenstein said she deserted Switzerland back at her home.

Switzerland pulls out a gun from his jacket. "I'll say this again, where is she?" Atlantis gulps. He wouldn't shoot a woman, would he? Yes, since she's a country, she can't die. But it doesn't make it any less painful.

"She's-"

"You have the nerve to expose Lichtenstein to a _host club_," Switzerland says with disgust in his voice.

That explains the hostile glare she felt outside the host club. She's a dead woman now. Nothing can be worse than this.

Lichtenstein walks out of GameStop with a plastic bag. "Look Atlantis, I got the Modern Warfare game you recommended. I'll return your Black Ops game lat- oh…" Lichtenstein stops dead in her tracks.

She stands corrected; no one will find her body after Switzerland is done with her.

Switzerland seethes in anger. "You're the one who introduced her to that game?!"

Atlantis stutters, "I can explain-" She can't snitch on Ukraine, Hungary, and Belarus. That will put her on bad terms with them. It looks like she's going to have to take the fall for the sake of future good relations with the female countries.

Switzerland cocks the gun and points it at Atlantis. "Five seconds. Run."

Atlantis doesn't hesitate and runs so fast she could be mistaken for an Italian. Lichtenstein is in good hands now that Switzerland is around.

* * *

Switzerland puts the gun back in his pocket. He grasps Lichtenstein's hand. "I don't want you to talk to Atlantis ever again. Don't even go near her."

Lichtenstein's eyes widen. "But-"

"No buts, let's go back home." Switzerland moves to the opposite direction of Atlantis' running, but Lichtenstein refuses to budge. She says a firm "No."

Switzerland gawks at her in shock.

"You scared away my crush before I left for my flight."

Switzerland gasps. "You mean that boy was-"

Lichtenstein nods. She looks him in the eyes. With a sudden gain of boldness and bravery, she says, "Yes, I don't want you scare him, or any future crushes, okay."

"No, they have to go through me first."

Lichtenstein looks at him with hurt. "Why not? I'm old enough to have a boyfriend."

Switzerland looks at the ground, embarrassed, with a small blush on his face. "Because, I don't want them to take you away from me."

Lichtenstein's eyes soften. She gives Switzerland a huge hug. "I'll never leave you big brother. You'll always be my favorite.

Switzerland has a faint smile on his face as he hugs Lichtenstein back.

After a few moments of silence, Switzerland says, "You still can't see Atlantis ever again."

"…..Darn it…."

Atlantis sprints from the 'scene of the crime,' glad to make it out alive. It looks like she's another one of Switzerland's survivors. Sadly, as she rounds a corner, she crashes into a police officer.

Atlantis falls onto her back from the force. She feels something fall from her pocket, but she ignores it.

The police officer glares at her. He bends down and picks up a gun from the floor.

"Do you have a permit for this?"

Atlantis stares dumbfounded. "It's not my gun, officer." She then comes to a sudden conclusion. Switzerland must have put the gun into her pocket earlier. Darn it, he probably planned for her to run into the law enforcement, like she always unfortunately does.

He narrows his eyes. "Unlikely story." He reaches for her until she takes action. She leaps onto her feet and roundhouse kicks his face. The officer is taken by surprise. The strong force of the kick sends him flying to the wall. Taking advantage of his distraction, she sprints in another direction.

Atlantis will never get a break from running from the police. She just knows it.

* * *

China steps out of his house to enjoy a night stroll. He gapes at the sight outside the house and rushes back inside his house screaming, "Evil ghosts are haunting me, aru!"

What made him scream so badly? It was the sight of giant China-chocolate heads on wooden stakes.

**Who put the giant chocolate heads of China outside of his house? It certainly wasn't Atlantis. She's too busy outrunning the cops in Japan and Lichtenstein would never do that to anyone. It's a mystery the world will never solve. :D**

**Just like there are Weeaboos -**** Someone who is obsessed with Japan/Japanese Culture/Anime, etc. and attempts to act as if they were Japanese, even though they're far from it. – there are Japanese people with is obsessed with Americans and American culture. ****The term the Japanese natives dubbed these people escapes me for a moment.**

**Every country has their own weeaboos. There's just more publicity on the weeaboos obsessed with anime. **


	6. The Dolphins of Taiji Beach

**Sorry for the late update! I posted my plot bunny, **_**Frugal Money Schemes**_**, and I got…distracted updating it. *guilty as charged***

_**The theme for this story: no matter how smart you are (or think you are), you can still make (stupid) mistakes and run into trouble, even if you're a country. That's life and it's a bitch.**_

**After writing Lichtenstein's name so many times, I don't need to copy and paste it anymore. xD**

**Now here's Japan's chapter. (Finally.) I kept editing this chapter. I worked really hard to get his personality right. :)**

* * *

Atlantis couldn't wait to return to her and Lichtenstein's hotel room. She's exhausted as hell. Her body is sore, her clothes are wet, and she's starving. As she trudges down the hallway, she grimaces at last night's events.

She managed to elude the police and his backup. She had to hide under the bridge in the park where she and Lichtenstein visited earlier. Atlantis surrounded herself in a ball of ice underwater. Atlantis, unfortunately, had to stay in a fetal position for an hour so she could make the ball as small as possible.

She wishes she has the ability to breathe underwater. Posoiden knows she needs it.

The police toke their sweet time on the bridge eating dangos. Damn dango break. Atlantis was running out of air to breathe because of them.

Atlantis pauses to see Switzerland standing outside the door, glaring at her. Atlantis inwardly groans. She completely forgot about the Host club/Black Ops problem.

Atlantis awkwardly greets, "H-Hello Switzerland. How are you-"

Switzerland shoves Atlantis' bags into her arms. "Here's your bags, now leave."

Atlantis' eyes widen. She protests, "But-" Switzerland's heated glares cause her to falter.

"I don't want you anywhere near Lichtenstein." Switzerland narrows his eyes. "_Ever_." Great, her and Lichtenstein are not allowed to see each other ever again because of her overprotective brother.

Atlantis stutters, "I-Is this about the Black Ops thing? It's not that bad….." It's not like she introduced Lichtenstein to Alice: Madness Returns or anything of the like. That would've mentally scared her for life.

Atlantis desperately wants to escape from Switzerland's wrath. He's very intimidating when it comes to Lichtenstein's protection.

Switzerland hisses, "Not that bad? Because of you, Lichtenstein is obsessed with that game. She _glares _at me whenever I interrupt when she's playing!" Okay, maybe that wasn't Atlantis' brightest comment. She needs to be careful of what she says to Switzerland. One wrong word and he'll be chasing her around with his gun.

Lichtenstein actually glared at someone? That is a very bad omen. Atlantis shudders. No wonder Switzerland is so furious at her.

"Atlantis, is that you?" whispers Lichtenstein from the inside of the room. Atlantis tries to peek over Switzerland shoulders, but he keeps blocking her attempts.

Switzerland looks over his shoulder and says, "What did I draw on the chalkboard?"

Lichtenstein mumbles, "….Atlantis is a bad person….." Atlantis stares in shock. Switzerland is brainwashing Lichtenstein to think she's a bad person. Okay, maybe she's a bit of a bad influence, but she's not a menace to society.

Switzerland cocks his gun at Atlantis' face. "Correct. Get off my property, now." Technically, the hotel owners own this property, but she's not going to tell that to Switzerland. Atlantis is not going to correct someone with a gun to her face.

It's becoming a daily occurrence in their encounters. She still can't believe he would point a gun at a woman.

Switzerland lowers the gun to his side and holds out his other hand. "Hand over my gun first."

Atlantis glares at him. "So you did frame me." She knew it. He wanted to get her arrested.

A small smirk darkens on Switzerland's face for a few seconds before it disapears. "No, I misplaced it."

"How could you have misplaced it in my pocket? Or better yet, you left it there in your attempt to grope me." Yes, she couldn't resist the you-groped-me-you-pervert line woman pull when a man touches a woman, intentionally or not.

"Who gropes someone with a gun in their hand?"

Switzerland and Atlantis continue their glaring match, until Switzerland points the gun in her face, again. "5…4…"

Atlantis sprints down the hallway to get out of his shooting range. She's not taking any chances whether he'll actually shoot in a hotel or not. She's not paying for those damages.

Switzerland smiles in satisfaction. No one taints Lichtenstein and gets away with it. He's going to enjoy scaring Atlantis half to death from now on.

* * *

Atlantis is on a semi crowded beach in Taiji. She walks through the water, looking for her beloved pet.

Atlantis makes clinking sounds with her mouth, trying to call him to her. The tourists stare at her in bewilderment. Children point and mock Atlantis, screaming, "Mom, there's a crazy woman on the beach." She shrugs off their stares and nasty words. All that matters is finding Marco.

_"My plane to Spain doesn't take off until tomorrow night. I might as well explore," She thinks. _Atlantis recalls the police incident. "_It was a good idea I left to another city."_ The police might still be looking for her and she doesn't want to take any chances of being arrested.

The Atlantean swears she has gotten into more trouble with law enforcement in centuries since she started attending world meetings. Maybe the mysterious ghost who haunts the meetings cursed her.

Splashing nearby catches her attention. Atlantis smiles warmly when she sees Marco, her pet dolphin, swimming in circles around her. Atlantis bends down and hugs Marco. 'Marco, you swam all the way to Japan to see me?'

Marco squeaks back, _'Of course! You're my favorite owner.' _Marco has been with her since her body aged to a young adult. Just like other countries animals, Marco is immortal just like them. Atlantis and Marco have a strong bond. She loves Marco as if he was her child. It helps fill the void.

Their love fest is interrupted. "Konnichiwa, Mu-san." (1)

Atlantis looks up to see Japan standing there awkwardly. "_Oh, he must have heard me talking in dolphin."_

"Hello Japan. I don't wish to be rude but…..Mu is a continent…..," corrects Atlantis.

Japan, embarrassed, quickly replies, "Sorry, Atlantis-san. It's a habit." Besides, Atlantis is located in the Mediterranean Sea, not the Pacific Ocean.

Atlantis tries to smile. "It's alright Japan. There's no harm done." A socially awkward silence descends upon them. This always happens to Atlantis when she's around young men outside of her country. She feels so strange, not ordering men around to do her bidding.

Japan asks, "I know this is sudden, but, if you have time, I would like to welcome you to my country since you're already here, Atlantis-san." It sounds like a good idea. Atlantis and Japan haven't talked much lately.

Japan is the perfect tour guide for his country. He'll know where all the local events and best restaurants are. Who is she to turn down his hospitality? That would be rude.

"I would love to see your country, Japan," Atlantis says, politely.

"Alright tourists, remember not to harm or harass any of the dolphins," says a young Japanese woman in a black wetsuit. Japan, Atlantis, and a few other tourists are in a pool with dolphins circling them. They were separated by groups of two. Atlantis and Japan stayed together.

The two countries are at the local aquarium to see the sea life. Atlantis spotted a program where people have the opportunity to interact with dolphins. It took a lot of convincing, but Atlantis finally convinced Japan to join.

Okay, maybe she was a little pushy. She really wanted to see how the Taiji dolphins are like compared to the dolphins in Atlantis. Maybe the full body wetsuit finally convinced him. She knows Japan wouldn't be comfortable to go in the pool shirtless in front of others.

Atlantis reassures, "It'll be fun Japan."

Japan quietly says, "If you say so, Atlantis-san." Japan looks uncomfortable with a dolphin nudging his side. Atlantis sees this and decides to intervene. It's the least she could do. She did drag him into this.

Atlantis lowers her head to the dolphin and speaks in dolphin, '_Do you mind not staying so close to him? He likes his personal space.'_

'_Ah, he's one of those personal space issue Japanese guys?' _asks the dolphin. Atlantis assumes the dolphins are used to playing with several Japanese citizens.

'_Yes,' _Atlantis replies. The dolphin squeaks to the other dolphins to back off Japan. They comply and surround Atlantis. They play with her hands; nudge her back and sides, in excitement that a 'human' (technically a country) can understand them.

Japan looks at her a little surprised. "How did you do that, Atlantis-san?"

"I speak dolphin. It's a second language in Atlantis." It's a requirement in Atlantis to learn how to speak dolphin. Her citizens use dolphins as transportation, especially when they are traveling outside of Atlantis.

Atlantis pets the nozzle of the female dolphin in front of her. _'Do you want me to hatch an escape plan so everyone can escape to the beach?' _Atlantis strongly believes dolphins do not belong in aquariums. She's going to bust out the dolphins, no matter what.

All the dolphins in the pool fall silent. They stop playing with the humans. The dolphins not surrounding Atlantis listen in on their conversation.

'_Y-You mean Taiji beach?'_

Atlantis replies, _'Yes' _Hell breaks loose at yes. The dolphins screech and dash around the pool, squeaking, _'No! I'm lucky to live here!' 'I don't want to die!' 'You'll never take me alive!'_

Atlantis and Japan looks upon the scene in shock. The dolphin trainer is trying to calm down the dolphins, but she's failing. The dolphins smack whoever is in their range with their tail. One of them splashes the dolphin trainer in the face. The tourists waddle to the edge of the pool, fighting who gets to climb the ladder first.

Japan urgently says, "Atlantis, what did you tell them to make them panic like this?"

Atlantis hastily replies, "I mentioned Taiji beach and the dolphins went insane! I've never seen dolphins go berserk like this before." Japan nervously looks away, a small glimmer of shame crossing his face.

Atlantis is suspicious. She wants to know the connection with Japan's reaction and the dolphins. She wants to solve this mystery and bring a peace of mind to the dolphins. Dolphins are prized animals in Atlantis; she will not stand to see them in such pain.

Atlantis suggests, "I heard about the Taiji Whale Festival on my way here. How about we go there?"

* * *

Japan drives on the road with the beaches in view. Atlantis sits in the front with Japan. There's tension in the air. Only someone who cannot read the atmosphere can be oblivious to it. Atlantis is keeping a sharp eye on the beaches. She's wondering which beach is causing so much fear among the dolphins. As well as what's causing it.

Atlantis cautiously asks, "Japan, do you know why the dolphins panicked when I mentioned Taiji beach?" She's sure Japan knows the reason. His reaction tells her so.

Japan looks at her from the corner of his eye. "Atlantis-san, do you love dolphins?"

"I love them as if they were my own citizens."

Japan flinches. His grip tightens on the wheel. Atlantis is getting a little worried. Japan is not answering her directly. Something must be wrong.

The car hitches to a halt. Japan tries turning on the engine, but it won't start. Japan quickly says, "I'll go check on the tires, please wait here." Japan hurries out of the car and slams the door.

Japan is trying to avoid the conversation. He slammed a door, for heaven's sake! When does he ever do anything like that? Just what is making him so nervous that he's relieved for anything to interrupt it? Atlantis hears squeaks in pain in the distance. Atlantis realizes it's coming from the beach. Atlantis' eyes widen. "_It's the dolphins. They need me," her mind screams._

Atlantis disobeys Japan's orders and barges out of the car, slamming the car door shut. Atlantis uses her burst of speed to the direction of the cries. Japan, startled, calls out for Atlantis. "Atlantis-san, please don't go over there. It's off limits."

His plea is not heard by Atlantis for she is too far away to hear it.

Atlantis feels tears in her eyes as she witnesses dolphins being speared in their heads by fisherman. She knows people are cruel, but not this cruel. She cries her heart out when she hears Marco's cry.

Her fists tighten at her sides. Atlantis is furious. Atlantis sprints for an occupied boat on the shore. The fishermen inside it shout, "Intruder! Someone restrain her." The fishermen leap for her, only to be violently shoved to the side by Atlantis' hands. Atlantis lifts up each man, one at a time, and hits a pressure point harshly on their neck.

"No one stops me from rescuing Marco."

The fishermen's body slump on the sand. Atlantis hijacks the speed boat and makes the engine roar to life. She puts the boat at high-speed, rushing towards the two boats holding Marco. She navigates around dying dolphins, her eyes set on her target.

The fishermen in the boats spot Atlantis speeding towards them. "What are you doing here? This is a restricted area-" The fishermen in one of the boats jump out and into the water to avoid the oncoming collision.

Atlantis leaps out of her boat and lands in the fisherman's boat holding Marco. Atlantis' boat makes impact with the other boat, causing a small explosion.

The lone fisherman holds out his bloodied spear. "S-Stand back you crazy woman." Atlantis angrily kicks the spear to the side with her left leg, sending the spear flying into a cliff. She glares at him with all her fury. She bluntly says, "Swim to shore before I snap your neck in half." The helpless fisherman leaps to the safety of the water.

Atlantis turns her attention to a bleeding Marco next to the boat. Atlantis falls to her knees and pulls Marco into a tight hug. "Oh Marco, if only I knew about the fishermen around here. I wouldn't have let you come near here."

Marco weakly says, _'I'd still come for you.' _Atlantis cries harder. Marco's devotion to her will bring him nothing but pain. She can't handle knowing he will knowingly put himself in danger to see her.

"Atlantis-san…..I'm sorry…."

Atlantis glares at Japan, who's in his own boat. Atlantis turns her emotional turmoil on Japan. "You knew about this and you didn't do anything about it!" This explains why the dolphins were so afraid of Taiji beach. They didn't want to be scared to death before they died.

Japan awkwardly says, "It's my country's culture to eat dolphins."

Atlantis harshly says, "Oh, do your people eat sharks and whales, too?"

Japan whispers, "Yes." Atlantis becomes shocked. Not them too! Atlantis' rational side is warning her to stop herself before she says something she'll regret. She ignores it. The Atlantean is too angry at Japan to listen.

"Your people are the reason my citizens are close to extinction!" By citizens, Atlantis is referring to the sea animals, not her actual people. No wonder she doesn't see as many whales, sharks, and dolphins anymore. And here she thought it was because of competition for food.

Japan narrows his eyes. "The fault does not entirely lie on my people. Eating whales is my people's culture."

Atlantis and Japan have a stare down before leaving for shore. It's a very awkward ride back to her hotel. They decide to not go to the Taiji Whale Festival anymore. "_Why should I?_ _They're probably going to __celebrate how many of my citizens they're eating," _Atlantis angrily thinks.

* * *

Atlantis sighs as she reaches her office. She pauses at his door. She feels terrible for taking out her frustration on Japan. She doesn't know how to make it up to him. He didn't deserve to be yelled at. She was a horrible guest.

Atlantis doesn't even know how she's going to explain the Switzerland and Japan incident to her boss. She's bringing nothing but bad news. Atlantis wonders if it's okay to be enemies with a neutral country. It's not like Switzerland is going to declare war on them.

Then again, her country will never be able to do trade with Switzerland and Lichtenstein, ever. She knows Switzerland will keep on his promise of keeping Lichtenstein from having anything to do with her, even trade.

Atlantis opens the door to see a strange sight. Her boss is hiding under his desk, shivering in fear. King Cyril scrambles from his desk and glomps her. Atlantis is wondering what the hell is wrong with him.

"Where the hell were you Atlantis?! Why didn't you answer the phone? I thought they got you too!" Atlantis shoves King Cyril from her person. Atlantis wonders why her boss thought something happened to her.

Atlantis asks, "What are you talking about, mortal?" King Cyril weeps, "After I passed the Anti-American law, my citizens have been trying to assassinate me. Even my wife tried to kill me!" Atlantis knew this was a bad idea in the first place. Her boss rarely listens to her.

"Your wife? Are you sure? She's nice and loves you very much." It's true. His wife always gives her tasty seaweed cookies.

"She poisoned my wine! My taste tester died after drinking it." It looks like this situation is very serious. She's going to have to clean this mess herself.

Atlantis lost three possible allies in only a few days. She wishes things will get better soon. But first, she has to deal with a very paranoid boss.

* * *

**(1) The lost continent of Mu is a myth. It is not Atlantis, although it sometimes mistaken as the same country, even though Mu is a continent. Mu is rumored to have sunk in the Pacific Ocean. Atlantis' one of many possible sunken sites is in the Mediterranean Sea.**

**Don't worry, the humor will be back next chapter. It involves Sealand and Prussia. The fun and chaos those two will bring...**

**Taiji is a ****town**** located in the ****Higashimuro District, Wakayama****, Japan. It is a whaling town. Fisherman would go out on their boats and force dolphins into secluded waters. Once trapped, they wait for the dolphins to calm down. Only a lucky few dolphins are sent to an aquarium in Japan or a different country. The others are killed.**

**The annual autumn festival is the **_**Taiji Kujira Matsuri**_** ("Taiji Whale Festival"), is held on the first Sunday of November.**

**It's been said that mermaids trained dolphins in ancient times to work together with them to hunt fish. I thought it would be natural for the citizens of Atlantis to learn how to communicate with them. **

**There are mermaids and sirens in Atlantis. Before anyone asks, no, Atlantis is not a siren or a mermaid. I was going to make her one, but I changed my mind. I thought it would make her mary sue-ish. She is already a water elemental, why should she have more talents?**


	7. Sea cow's Special Hide-and-Seek Game

**I feel bad that I took a long time updating, so I decided to upload another chapter sooner. :D**

**Thank you ****Marcy Charli Zara ****for your suggestions. I'll be sure to go back and fix the errors. It might take a week or two (Tests are coming up. It might slow me down.) I'm glad you pointed it out. I really appreciate it. :) **

**Switching point of views (POW) rarely happens in this fic, but, I feel it'll feel make certain scenes more interesting if readers don't know what Atlantis is planning. :)**

* * *

Atlantis strolls by a nice neighborhood in Germany after finishing her assassination mission. A former Atlantean citizen was going to release incriminating documents and photos to the German Media. Atlantis put a stop to it by poisoning his drink. The dark blue-haired woman also made sure to destroy all the evidence. Even in this modern era, poison is still effective.

Atlantis lingers outside Germany's house. She sees Germany scrambling to button his suit as he power walks to the street. Germany catches a glimpse of Atlantis and goes straight towards her.

Germany quickly says, "Atlantis, thank goodness you're here. Can you do me a favor and watch Prussia while I'm gone? There's an emergency G8 meeting and you're the first country I can find." Atlantis reflects on his question. She doesn't like Prussia very much. His pride and so-called 'Awesomeness' irritates her.

But, as Atlantis gazes into Germany's desperate eyes, she thinks it's a better idea to set aside her feelings, for Germany's sake. He really looks like he needs help. It's not as though Prussia is her mortal enemy. The Atlantean figures she can handle Prussia for a few hours.

She thinks,_ "How bad can it be?" _

Atlantis helps Germany's fumbling hands with his tie. "I'll do it." Atlantis ignores Germany's growing embarrassment. "I'm curious, though. Why does Prussia need a babysitter? He's a grown man, surely he can handle being home alone." She straightens out his tie and moves to help with his collar.

He takes a step away from Atlantis and shyly tilts his head to the road. "That's not necessary Atlantis. I can fix myself." Atlantis furrows her brows. She sees nothing wrong with helping him fix his tie. She does this with the adult royal children all the time, much to their annoyance.

Germany coughs into his hand. "I need you to keep Prussia from crashing the meeting. It's very important and the other countries don't need Prussia causing chaos." Atlantis sees the logic in this. Prussia can become very distracting; especially when he's drunk. That's something she doesn't want to remember.

Atlantis smiles. "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him." Germany gives a "Thank you" before rushing to his car. Atlantis says, "Goodbye, Germany."

Atlantis watches as he drives away. Once the car is out of her sight, Atlantis goes to Germany's house. She knocks on the door a few times. Atlantis hears loud footsteps and a "coming." The door opens to reveal Prussia slouching on the door frame.

Prussia smirks. "Are you here to take in my awesomeness?" Atlantis resists the urge to roll her eyes. She pretends to look around. "I see no 'awesome' men around." Prussia moves to the side and allows Atlantis to enter. The Prussian shuts the door behind them and heads to the kitchen with Atlantis following him.

Prussia playful places his right hand over his heart. "You're so heartless Atlantis. You wound me." The ex-nation reaches into the refrigerator for German beer. "If you get that stick out of your ass, _maybe_ you'll be more fun to be around."

Atlantis fumes. She's not going to let Prussia get away with that comment. She retorts, "If you mature, _maybe_ you'll become awesome."

Atlantis and Prussia engage in a stare down, their pride refusing to let either of them to back down. The doorbell interrupts their match. When Prussia refuses to go answer the door, Atlantis sighs.

"I'll go answer it." As Atlantis walks out of the kitchen, Prussia shouts, "Kesesese~ Prussia for the win!" Atlantis grumbles how obnoxious the Prussian man can be. Sure, America is obnoxious too, but he means well. Prussia, on the other hand, is very narcissistic. His gloating of his 'awesomeness' reaffirms it.

Atlantis opens the door to see England holding the hand of a young boy dressed in a sailor outfit. She certainly didn't expect to see the Englishman at Germany's house when there's an emergency G8 meeting happening at the moment.

"Good afternoon, Atlantis."

Atlantis courteously says, "Hello England. Germany is not home at the moment. He already left for the meeting."

"I know." England sheepishly smiles. "If it's not too much trouble, can you please babysit Sealand for me? I heard you were babysitting Prussia so I thought you are capable of the job."

Sealand grumbles, "A country like me doesn't need a babysitter."

Germany must have spread the word fast. Not even thirty minutes have passed and she's already getting more countries to watch over. She hopes she doesn't get more countries visiting with child countries in tow. It'll be overwhelming if it continues.

"I don't mind. I love children." Now Atlantis doesn't have to spend the entire day watching only Prussia. At least she has an adorable child to cuddle with and not get arrested for being a 'cougar.'

Sealand huffs, "England, I thought you said I was going to meet a _real _country." Atlantis' eyes' twitches. This child better not be referring to her. If so, he's going to bed without desert. She's real, dammit!

England harshly tugs on Sealand's arm. "Sealand! That's a rude thing to say, apologize this instant." Sealand crosses his arms and looks away from England. "Everyone knows Atlantis is a make-believe country, like your imaginary friends." Sealand is lucky he's a child. Or else he might find himself sleeping with the fishes, as the idiom goes.

England apologizes, "I'm sorry Atlantis for Sealnad's behavior." Atlantis forces a smile on her face. She lies, "It's alright."

England focuses his attention the child. "You behave and be nice to Atlantis while I'm gone, alright Sealand?"

Sealand grumbles, "Okay."

England says, "Goodbye Atlantis and Sealand." The Englishman leaves in a hurry, leaving the remaining two countries in an uncomfortable silence.

"Let's go inside Sealand." Atlantis leads Sealand into the house. He immediately lunges for the couch. He lays his head on the armrest, his shoulders slump.

Sealand whines, "I want to go to the meeting, too. A country like me should be allowed to go."

Atlantis takes a seat next to Sealand. "Only counties can go to the meetings."

Sealand argues, "I'm a country." Atlantis has never heard of the 'country' of Sealand. She highly doubts it's real. "How come you get to go to the meetings? You're not a country!" That strikes a nerve. She knows she's real. She's not a myth!

"As England said before, my name is Atlantis."

Sealand gets a mischievous smile on his face. "I know your real name~"

Atlantis raises an eyebrow. "Oh? Tell me, Sealand, what is my name?" She wonders what Sealand thinks is her 'real' name. She's not lying about her own name. She has nothing to gain by lying about it.

Sealand jumps from the couch and strikes a pose. He shoves his index finger to her face. "Your real name is Moo!" (1)

Atlantis blinks. "…..Moo….?"

Sealand nods his head in conformation. "Uh huh! I overheard Japan calling you Moo once." Atlantis flinches at the mention of Japan. She feels guilty; she hasn't given him an apology yet.

Sealand grins. "Caught in your own lie. Your silence confirms it." Atlantis is about to retort, when she is interrupted by a laugh.

"Kesesese~ You're really a cow, Atlantis? I should've known. It explains your lack of awesomeness." Atlantis is wondering how long he was standing there. She didn't hear him enter the living room.

Atlantis glares at Prussia. The Prussian is leaning over the counch, laughing hard. "I'm not a cow."

Prussia's eyes gleam. "Say, your country is in the sea near to Spain, right?" Atlantis hesitantly nods. She doesn't know why he's bringing this up.

Prussia leans into Atlantis' face, disturbing her comfort zone. Atlantis holds her breath, wary of Prussia's next words.

"You're a sea cow!"

Atlantis can't take the verbal abuse any longer. She harshly replies, "I'm a woman, not an animal you simpleton."

Sealand pipes in, "Sea cow, why aren't you in your natural habitat? You're a little too large to live on land." Atlantis unconsciously reaches for her stomach and squeezes it.

She thinks, _"I'm not fat…right? I exercise and I do not eat fast food." _Curse these two countries for making her feel insecure about her body. Atlantis resists the urge the urge to lift her shirt to check. There are men present in the room.

Atlantis retorts, "I refuse to take anymore more of your insults." Atlantis quickly walks to the kitchen, trying to block out Prussia and Sealand's laughter.

Atlantis takes a bottle of water on the counter and drinks large gulps. She coughs, since she was swallowing the water too quickly. Atlantis is regretting her decision to babysit the countries. She should have declined Germany's pleas and told him she had important business to attend to.

Atlantis thinks it's a good idea to go back to the living room to give them a scolding of a lifetime. They deserve it.

"What are you doing here Sealand? You want to see my awesomeness, too?" The Atlantean peaks her head out of the kitchen. She doesn't want to leave the kitchen just yet.

Sealand replies, "Atlantis is babysitting me too."

Prussia looks at Sealand with confusion. "Too?" Atlantis recalls Germany didn't have time to tell him about it. Oh well, it's not her fault.

Sealand stares at Prussia in disbelief. "Didn't Germany tell you Atlantis is babysitting you?"

"Nein, he didn't." Prussia complains, "The awesome me doesn't need a babysitter. Why did he leave me with one?"

Sealand answers, "So we don't 'crash' the meeting they're having right now. I deserve to be there."

Prussia stops all movement. "…..There's a meeting going on right now and West didn't tell me….."

A maniacal grin crosses Prussia's face. "Let's crash the meeting in revenge!" Sealand quickly agrees. "But first, we have to ditch the babysitter." Those two need to speak more quietly when their discussing their plan. She can hear them all the way from the kitchen.

Sealand slumps into the couch. "How are we going to do that? She won't let us leave so easily."

Prussia pats Sealand's shoulder. "The great Prussia will think of a plan." Prussia snaps his fingers. "I'll call it Operation Escape from Sea cow." Atlantis thinks that horrid nickname will never go away at this rate. Prussia and Sealand have grown an attachment to it already. She'll die of humiliation if they call her Sea cow in front of the other nations.

Atlantis thinks it's a good idea to make her entrance now. She doesn't want them to become suspicious on why she was taking a long time in the kitchen. An evil grin makes its way on the golden-eyed woman's face.

"_They believe they can escape the mighty empire of Atlantis so easily? Fools, that's what those males are. They'll feel the wrath of Poseidon!"_

* * *

The countries are sitting on two sofas facing each other. Prussia watches Atlantis reading a dull book, peaking at them from time to time. She doesn't look like she trusts them. Prussia knows she has a good reason to: he and Sealand are executing their escape plan now. The Prussian gives Sealand the signal: a two finger salute.

Sealand nods. Sealand puts on a fake smile and leaps onto Atlantis' lap, knocking her book to the floor. Atlantis frowns at her fallen book. Sealand exclaims, "I love you Atlantis! Let's play hide-and-seek."

Prussia smirks. He remembers hearing that Atlantis is a sucker for children. She's clingy as hell when it comes to kids. It has something to do with 'filling the voiiiiid.'

Prussia and Sealand's plan is simple. Sealand will convince Atlantis and him to play 'hide-and-seek.' The two countries are going to use this game to escape to the meeting. Atlantis, of course, is going to be 'it.' While she's counting, they'll make a break for it to the back door.

The plan is fool-proof because the awesome Prussia made it.

Atlantis looks skeptical. She tries to put Sealand at an arm's length from her. "You're calling me Atlantis? Didn't you believe I was a myth?"

Prussia's eyes' widen. _"Shit. The plan can't end because of a stupid mistake!"_

Sealand improvises on his mistake. He cuddles Atlantis and rubs his head to her neck. "You hate being called Sea cow, so I thought I can call you by your...real name." Atlantis is silent, seemingly ignoring Sealand's 'affectionate' hugs.

Prussia is nervous. He hopes she buys the lie.

Atlantis snaps out of her thought. A smile crosses her face. Prussia swears it looks cruel. _"Nah, she's not evil to children."_ She turns to him. "If Prussia joins, then we'll all play."

Prussia grins. "Of course I'll play. I don't want to disappoint him. Kesesese~" Perfect. He doesn't even need Sealand to 'drag' him into the game.

Atlantis removes Sealand from her lap. She claps her hands and grins. "Why don't you two hide while I count to one thousand…_slowly_?" She actually volunteered? Looks like Sealand doesn't have to guilt Atlantis with the puppy dog eyes to be it.

Prussia and Sealand exchange a secret grin. The plan is going smoother than he thought it would. He knows she can't resist kids; no matter how bratty they are.

Atlantis turns so her back faces them. "1….2….3….4…."

Prussia and Sealand dash from the room together. They go down a hallway, duck into a room, and break down laughing.

Prussia snickers, "Man, she's dense. Before she realizes we're not playing, it'll be too late. We'll already be at the meeting." He reaches into a chest and pulls out two paint guns. He tosses one to Sealand and he catches it.

Sealand laughs, "Yeah, and she'll be in big trouble with our brothers. They'll never ask her to babysit us ever again." Another bonus: no more Atlantis nagging them to behave.

A chill fills the air. It gets so cold, Prussia hugs himself for warmth.

A shriek causes Prussia to temporarily forget the cold. "Prussia, please help-" Loud thuds tune out the rest of her words. "Don't eat me-"

Their eyes widen in shock. "Sea cow!" both of the countries scream. They dart out of the room and back into the living room.

Prussia stops to a halt. He sees a red liquid covering the tiled floor. Atlantis' sandals are left in the pool of red. "Blood…" He grips his head. "West is gonna kill me! Look at this mess." Germany is such a neat freak. He'll force the Prussian the clean the mess, he just knows it.

Sealand punches him in the stomach. Prussia curses. "What was that for?"

The micro nation sobs, "A-Atlantis is dead and all you care about is getting in trouble with your brother?"

Prussia backpedals into a lamp. "S-She can't be dead." She's a country. Countries can't die unless their country disappears. Her country can't vanish in just two minutes. They saw her alive and well not that long ago.

Sealand tosses the paint gun across the floor. "I know I was mean to her, b-but that doesn't mean I want her to die," The micro nation becomes hysterical. "She screamed not to eat her! There's a country-eating monster on the loose."

Prussia slaps Sealand across the face. "Shut up and listen. Call the countries for back up and I'll go kill that thing." Prussia is going to get revenge. He loves pissing off Atlantis. He can't help himself: she has a giant tree up her ass. It's funny to see her get frustrated at his teasing.

Sealand picks up the phone and dials a number. Sealand stutters, "The phone's not working." Crap, Prussia left his cell phone in Germany's car. He knows his brother took the car to the meeting. The nearest building where the countries hold meetings in Germany is thirty miles away from the house.

Prussia runs to the kitchen for knives. It's the only available weapon at the time. If he manages to make it to his room, he can grab his guns. He returns to see the other country still in the house. "Sealand, get out of here and go get help."

Sealand's eyes widen. "What about you-"

"I'll be alright. Just find someone with a working phone."

Sealand reluctantly says, "Okay." The micro nation goes to the front door. He twists the doorknob, but it won't open. "I-It's locked."

Prussia pushes Sealand to the side to give the doorknob a try. "Impossible. The door can't lock from the inside." No matter how hard it's shaken, he couldn't get the door open.

Prussia keeps struggling with the doorknob, refusing to give up. "Stupid door won't open."

Sealand stutters, "P-Prussia, I f-found the monster." Prussia hesitantly turns around to see a strange creature.

The crystal clear dragon with sharp wings hisses at the countries. Blood oozes from its mouth, each drop slowly dripping to the floor.

Prussia smells a foul order. "That thing smells terrible."

"…I peed my pants…"

Prussia looks at Sealand's pants, and sure enough, he sees a wet stain on the crotch area. The Prussian grimaces at the disgusting sight. "Seriously? What are you, five?"

The crystal dragon roars. It holds out its claws to the sides of the countries to prevent escape. Prussia throws the knives at it. It doesn't do any damage besides leaving a few scratch marks.

Sealand and Prussia scream in terror as they hug each other. Sealand declares, "If I die, I want you to know I fed Gilbird Peeps." (2)

"If the awesome me dies, I want you to know I was the one who dyed your clothes pink."

"Wait, that was you!" they both exclaim at the same time.

Prussia feels a cold breath on his face. He blinks to see the unawesome crystal dragon breathing on them. Sealand and him scream again, only to fall unconscious shortly after.

* * *

Atlantis gently places a blanket on Sealand. She smiles as she moves some of his blonde hair from his face.

Soft knocking on the front door forces Atlantis to go answer. She gets up and goes to open the door. England and Germany walk into the room. Atlantis softly smiles. "Welcome back Germany, England."

Germany looks worriedly at her. "I hope Prussia didn't make too much trouble."

"Not at all. Surprisingly, they didn't try to escape."

Germany goes to tend to Prussia. He tries to wake him up, but his efforts are failing.

Atlantis lightly shakes Sealand's shoulder. "Sealand, please wake up. England's here for you."

Sealand abruptly wakes up, startled. Sealand gasps at Atlantis with wide eyes. He glomps her to the ground. Atlantis definitely didn't see that coming.

Sealand cries, "You're alive!"

Atlantis chuckles, "Of course I'm alive. My country didn't go extinct." Atlantis is denying it ever happened. Sealand will be more traumatized if he knows it actually happened.

England tries to pry Sealand off of her. "Let go off her, git." Sealand refuses to budge. Atlantis thinks she went a little too far with her prank. Sealand is still a child, after all. Maybe she should slip an amnesia potion into his drink so he can forget about the frightening experience.

Sealand cries, "A-Atlantis, how did y-you escape the scary dragon?" Ah, he must be referring to her ice dragon.

It was a pain to make on the spot. She had to freeze the inner workings of the front door's lock, spill red food coloring on the floor, leave her sandals in the liquid, disconnect the phones, **and **scramble to another room after she screams for 'help.' In the room, she had to quickly gather all the water she can to freeze it into the form of a large dragon.

All in all, she had to move with the speed of a cheetah on steroids before the escapees left the premises.

England scoffs, "I thought you didn't believe in magical creatures, Sealand?"

Sealand gets off Atlantis and does wild hand gestures. "I-It was huge and it ate Atlantis! Her blood and sandals are in the living room-"

England waves off Sealand's rant. "What blood? I don't see any."

"B-But-"

Atlantis wraps an arm around Sealand's shoulder. "Sealand, you had a horrible nightmare. During our game of hide-and-seek, I found you and Prussia sleeping in another room."

"I did?" Atlantis nods.

Sealand laughs, "Of course there's no such thing as crystal dragons, like Atlantis." She frowns. He's still a non-believer after that little fiasco.

England narrows his eyes at Sealand. "Where are his pants?" Around Sealand's waist is a pair of boxers, it's kind of loose on him.

Atlantis sighs. "Sealand had an accident in his pants. I borrowed one of Prussia's boxers." Atlantis adds, "I hope Prussia doesn't mind too much." Secretly on the inside, she is laughing hysterically. _"That's what Prussia gets for trying to get me into trouble." _She found the smallest pair of boxers she could find (preferably Prussia's) and changed Sealand into it.

Sealand blushes. "Y-You changed me?"

"Of course, there was no one else around to do it."

Atlantis goes to the door. "Goodbye gentleman, I must go home now." She exits the house with some "Goodbyes."

"_Countrysitting isn't so bad. Hopefully, England and Germany will let her babysit their brothers more often. She won't terrorize them too badly next time~"_

* * *

**(1) Mu (A lost continent) is most commonly pronounced as Moo, like a cow going "Moo." It has another pronunciation, but people prefer saying Moo. I don't blame them. It sounds fun to say. :) **

**(2) Peeps- it is a popular Easter treat in the shape of a yellow bird.**

**Idioms are most commonly called phrases. These phrases are understood in one country, but sound like nonsense when someone from another country hears it. For example, "Two heads are better than one" or "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." (American idioms)**

**Atlantis is too motherly sometimes for her own good. She doesn't notice it half the time. XD It embarrasses everyone, especially men. **

**I never got around to showing a country who ****still**** doesn't believe in her existence. It finally happens and she hates it. XD**


	8. Ghost Hunting

America points to the blackboard, which has a drawing of a large stick figure hugging what she assumes to be trees. "Okay guys, we're gonna save the rainforest by having a giant superhero guard it twenty-four seven," exclaims America. Atlantis and the other countries groan. England, in a scolding tone, says, "Can't you think of an idea not involving superheroes, America." She continues doodling sea animals on what is supposed to be notes on the meeting.

He keeps saying idiotic solutions about superheroes to almost every single problem brought up in meetings. She's sick and tired of it. Just because America is her best friend doesn't mean she's going to blindly agree to everything that sprouts out of his mouth.

Atlantis shifts in her seat. She smiles. _"At least I have a seat cushion. I wish the chairs in all the meetings have these cushions. It's so comfortable." _

Germany screams at America to sit down and he reluctantly does so. China stands up to give his lecture next. Atlantis stops doodling to pay attention to him. She knows he'll actually give an informative speech unlike some countries she knows.

"E-Excuse me Miss Atlantis, you're sitting on me." The room becomes silent. Everyone in the room heard the quiet voice by chance.

The countries yelp and scramble away from the table. Papers fly everywhere in the chaos. Some chairs are thrown to the floor. Atlantis tumbles out of her seat in shock.

America clings behind his chair. "T-The ghost is back!"

China screams, "Aiyah! The evil ghost is haunting us again, aru."

Atlantis, offended, harshly says, "I'm alive, China." She's still bitter about the whole ghost fiasco with China at the Ice and Snow festival. In her opinion, he never should've said he used to think she was a ghost.

China stammers and waves his sleeves, "I d-didn't mean you, Atlantis." He didn't have to say _evil _ghost. Just ghost would have been fine with her.

Germany slams his fists on the table. "That is enough! There is no such thing as ghosts. Let's continue this meeting so we can accomplish something today." The countries calm down in a few minutes and resume the meeting. Some of the countries are still jumpy, though. America shifts his eyes, looking to be on a look out for the ghost's return.

Atlantis drowns out China's lecture. She's lost in thought. _"This ghost keeps following us to meetings." _ The countries reactions to the ghost interrupting the meetings become annoying after a while. She became used to hearing it speak up once in a while, but this is the first time she has heard it so close to her. The ghost doesn't do anything harmful, so she often ignores it.

Atlantis recalls a movie franchise America blabs about from time to time. _"I believe it is called Ghostbusters." _If she remembers correctly, it involves something about a group of people going around catching ghosts. She zones out whenever America talks about it.

That settles it; Atlantis is going to capture the ghost and coerce it to heaven. She's not taking no for an answer. It will leave the countries alone and get them to shut the hell up about the mysterious ghost. If she needs to use force, so be it.

Atlantis' attention is brought back to reality just in time to allow her to duck an incoming chair. Her eyes widen as she ducks to the floor. Her ears pick up the arguing countries screaming at each other for reasons unknown to her. (They usually start fights over ridicules reasons. She doesn't bother remembering them.)

Atlantis keeps her hands above her head to protect her crown. It was a gift from the first King of Atlantis. (1) If anyone breaks it, they won't be alive long enough to utter the words sorry.

"Hi Atlantis."

Atlantis becomes startled to see Lichtenstein sitting nervously next to her. She nearly has a heart attack. Atlantis figits with her crystal necklace. "L-Lichtenstein, I don't recommend talking to me right now with _him _possibly watching." Atlantis is referring to Switzerland. She doesn't want to see him fulfill his promise. She wants to walk away bullet free.

Lichtenstein tears up a little. "I miss you. I miss our adventures, even if you sometimes get us into trouble." Atlantis panics at Lichtenstein's tears. She hates making children cry. (Unless they're being brats.)

Atlantis rapidly says, "I miss you too. We can plan something together without Switzerland knowing about it." The Atlantean is sincere about it. She really does miss Lichtenstein. Her brother prevents Atlantis from even looking in Lichtenstein's direction. Hopefully, he won't catch onto their plans.

A bang sounds and a hole appears in front of Atlantis' hand. She fearfully looks up to see Switzerland glaring at her with his shotgun in hand. "I told you stay away from her, Atlantis. You have the nerve to disobey me and make Lichtenstein cry." He points the shotgun at her face. "You must pay the consequences."

Atlantis ditches her sandals and quickly gets up to run. Switzerland fires again near her feet. She yelps as she runs around the room barefoot with a gun maniac close behind her. Switzerland shouts, "This shot is for corrupting Lichtenstein!" A bullet barely misses her left foot by inches. "And this is for getting her interested in dating!" He fires another bullet at her feet.

Atlantis shouts back, "That's not my fault!" Honestly, if he's going to blame her for something, he might as well do it right. It's healthy for young girls to develop crushes on boys. Besides, Switzerland should be thanking her for cheering up Lichtenstein when he wasn't there.

Germany slams his fist on the table. "That's enough for today. We'll continue the meeting tomorrow afternoon." The commotion stops abruptly. The countries leave the room in haste.

Switzerland gives her one last glare. "Stop corrupting Lichtenstein, or else." He goes to Lichtenstein and grabs her hand. When they leave the room, Lichtenstein mouths, "Bye, talk to you later."

Atlantis nods in acknowledgement. She's the only country in the room now. Her previous decision from earlier comes back to her. The blue-haired woman says out loud to herself, "I almost forgotten about the ghost." Atlantis is going to have to do research on how to catch ghosts. She's not sure what tools are needed to catch one.

* * *

Atlantis peaks into the empty meeting room. She sighs in relief. _"Thank goodness. I can't believe I made it here earlier than England." _She's a little embarrassed at what she's about to do. She doesn't want the other countries to see her trying to catch the ghost.

She lurks around the room, her special ghost hunting tool behind her back. She strains her eyes to see a fading figure sitting at the table. She smirks. _"I have you in my sight, ghost." _She sneaks behind him quietly. She raises her giant butterfly net, ready to strike.

The ghost mumbles, "No one can see me, kunkamichi."

Atlantis quietly says, "I can see you."

The ghost turns around abruptly in shock. Atlantis hurls her butterfly net upon him. He quietly gasps as she forces him to the ground. The butterfly only covers half of his body with little room for movement.

Atlantis jabs her foot into his lower back. The ghost groans in pain. Atlantis speaks with authority in her voice, "I'll be fair and give you a warning: go to heaven now, or I'll send you to hell with my foot." Atlantis believes this is the proper way to send ghosts back to heaven. From the Ghost Adventure episodes and Ghostbusters movies she's seen, being polite never seems to send them home.

The ghost stutters, "Why are you doing thi-" Atlantis applies more pressure to his back. "Do not back talk to the mighty empire of Atlantis. Do as you're told before I resort to force."

"A-Atlantis, I'm the country Canada."

"Unlikely story."

Atlantis halts. Canada does sound familiar. She's not sure why, though. Maybe she should ask around to see if there is a country named Canada.

A furry blur lunges at her. "Get off of him. I need him to feed me." Atlantis releases her hold on her butterfly net and is slammed onto the table. The white fur ball wraps its paws and legs around her face, its stomach constricting her breathing.

Atlantis grabs the fur ball by its sides and tries to tear it from her face. She tries to say, "Get off of me, demon." but it comes out as gibberish since its stomach is blocking her mouth.

A weak voice says, "Kuma, please leave her alone. She didn't mean it."

The fur ball is ripped from her face and she sees America holding a small polar bear trying to claw at her face. Atlantis stares at it. She doesn't know how a wild animal is far from its natural habitat and in the meeting room. It's kind of strange.

America laughs, "Atlantis, what did you do to get this little guy pissed?"

Atlantis looks away embarrassed. "I-I caught the ghost haunting the meetings when the…polar bear attacked me." It's embarrassing for her to be taken down by a small polar bear. She hopes no one back home finds out. They'll never let her live it down.

The polar bear growls at her before leaving the room.

America blinks. He sets down the polar bear and comes up to Atlantis. The American pats Atlantis' back. "Trying to be the hero, huh Lanti? You should leave this kind of stuff to me." As if she's going to leave ghost hunting to America. He'll run out of the room screaming.

America screams every time he hears the ghost at the meeting. Hell, he can't even handle scary movies. She's his security blanket whenever he invites her over to see them. He squeezes her with his super strength, leaving her gasping for air. Hugs are one thing, nearly breaking her ribs is another thing.

America looks at her curiously. "Where's your gear? You said you are hunting the ghost, right?"

Atlantis bends down and picks up her giant butterfly net. She sheepishly keeps it in America's view. "I have my butterfly net."

America takes one look at it and bursts out laughing. He takes the net and waves it around. "Lanti, you watch The Fairly Odd Parents too much. Butterfly nets are for fairies." Atlantis huffs. Okay, she used a cartoon as a reference. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

"I thought it would work on ghosts too."

America tosses the giant butterfly net out a window. He looks at her, determined. "Meet me here at Midnight. I'll teach you the right way to catch ghosts."

"Why at such late an hour?"

He grins. "Ghosts like coming out more often at night."

Atlantis is unsure if she should do it. She reconsiders it. Someone needs to keep an eye on him. He'll injure himself when he runs away from the ghost, scared. "Fine, I'll come."

Atlantis realizes something important. She turns to America. "Why are you here earlier than everyone else?" It's strange to see America, of all people, early to a meeting. He usually comes late because he had to drop by McDonalds first.

America snaps his fingers. "Oh yeah. I wanted to prank Iggy before he got here." She sighs. She should've known he's up to no good.

"America, what are you doing here so early?"

Atlantis and America look to the door to see a grumpy England glaring at the American.

America gives a big smile and wraps her shoulders in a side hug. "Me and Lanti here are planning our ghost hunt." Atlantis tries to escape, but he hugs harder when she does. Personally, she wants to keep other countries in the dark about the ghost hunt tonight. No one besides America needs to know about it.

England sighs and rubs his forehead. "How many times does everyone have to tell you to stop Americanizing Atlantis?" He does not. America is teaching her many things about this modern era. Without him, she never would have discovered the glory of Twinkies and television.

America replies, "I'm just teaching her some cool stuff. Like how to play video games and understand American slang." It's true. She understands American slang better with him around. Although, she still does not understand why 'kick it' means 'let's gather at such and such place.' To her, it sounds like the person wants to kick their friend. People are so violent these days.

"Bloody git, you're teaching her useless information. She needs to be with a different country to teach her useful information." America narrows his eyes. He lets go of Atlantis and storms up to England. Face to face, America says, "She's my best friend and as the hero I'll help her learn about this era."

Atlantis thinks that that is one of the sweetest things he's said about her. However, she wishes he doesn't look like he's about to assault England. Atlantis grabs America's arm and tries to pull it. "America, let's talk about our plan. We don't want to be unprepared, correct?"

America brightens. "Yeah, you're right." America leads them to the far end of the table. They each take a seat as other countries file in, some louder than others.

America mumbles, "No one steals the hero's sidekick away."

Atlantis whispers, "Don't worry, I will not be tempted by the dark side."

America laughs as he pats her back. She coughs, for he is putting some of his super strength into it. "Iggy is the super villain with creepy dark magic." She didn't see it that way. It's humorous thinking of England as an evil wizard.

Atlantis chuckles. She thinks it's a good idea to change the subject before England overhears the conversation and yells at them.

"America, how do you capture a ghost?"

* * *

In the dark building, Atlantis nervously glances around with her flashlight. The dark hallway makes all the furniture creepy. She peeks at America, who is trying to look brave. "Are you sure this is a good idea? I don't think you can handle it."

America straightens his back and laughs. "I'm not scared! I can handle one ghost." Atlantis doubts it. He can barely stay in the same room with one.

America pulls a box out of his backpack. It's a black box with strange symbols on it. "Okay Lanti, we're gonna use a Ouija board to contact the ghost. Atlantis pales. She remembers hearing horror stories about it. Stupid teenagers getting mysterious scratches on their backs and dying is the most prevalent in her mind.

Atlantis grabs the box. "I don't think it's a good idea. I feel uncomfortable summoning demons or devils, especially at night." She tries to pull it away from his grasp, but America refuses to let go.

America grins. "Don't be scared. If I wanted to summon devils, I would've brought England along and make him sing his evil devil summoning song." America sits on the floor and sets up the Ouija board.

Atlantis gulps. She didn't know England sings those kinds of songs. That's kind of creepy. "You're n-not serious, right? He wouldn't…"

America, not sensing the atmosphere, quips, "Of course he does. He sings it sometimes." He shudders. "It's scary. It sounds like he's trying to summon the devil." Atlantis is now a little afraid of England. If what America is saying is true, than England should know how dangerous summoning the devil is.

A few of her subordinates tried it, and she has never heard of them since.

America places his fingertips on a small triangle on the board. "Put your fingers on it too. We'll call the ghost together."

Atlantis shakes her head. "I refuse. You can summon the ghost with the Ouija board. I'll do it the safer way." Atlantis walks away and carefully unclips the giant butterfly net from her back. She makes a turn and walks down another hallway, ignoring America's shouts to come back. There's no way she's playing with dangerous shit. She wants to keep her limbs intact.

Atlantis checks around herself with her butterfly net. She had to buy a new one because Belarus is using the other one to capture Russia. She's not going to ask for it back: Belarus can keep it.

The Atlantean looks to the window to hear and see a flash of lightning streak the sky. The lights flicker on before dying out.

America's screams breaks the silence. Atlantis curses in her mind as she runs to where she last saw America. _"How could I leave America alone with a Ouija board?" _

She stumbles into the last hallway to see the Oujia board and triangle piece lying against the wall. Atlantis' legs shake. She covers her mouth. _"He's gone…."_

"Atlantis…."

Atlantis jumps. She sharply turns around in the dark to see America's figure. Her face lights up. She pulls him into a tight hug. "Don't scare me like that America. I thought you summoned the devil and it kidnapped you." America's hugs are contagious. She feels more comfortable hugging people when she wants to.

He hesitantly returns her hug. "I'm not-"

Atlantis releases America from her grasp and grabs his arm. "We're leaving and that's final. We'll catch the ghost during the day." Atlantis concludes it's too dangerous to go ghost hunting during the night. The ghost appears when there's light. It'll be safer for both of them to capture it in that time frame.

Atlantis moves to pull him along with her but he doesn't budge. She drops her butterfly net and puts her other hand on his arm. "I'm serious, we're leaving." Atlantis feels she's trying to move a boulder.

"I'm not America and I'm not a ghost."

Atlantis freezes. "Who are you?" That certainly explains it. The real America would have returned her hug with enthusiasm, exclaiming how she actually hugged him first.

The man sighs. "I'm Canada." He turns on a flashlight to show his face. He strikingly looks similar to America. The long curl and wavy blond hair distinguishes him from America.

"What are you doing here….Canada?" Atlantis nearly forgets his name for a moment. She luckily saves herself in time.

Canada motions her to follow him. They start walking away from the fallen Ouija board. "I was concerned about my brother America staying in this building after dark, so I followed you guys here." Atlantis nods.

Atlantis becomes thoughtful when Canada mentioned he's America's brother. "I remember America mentioned once he has a brother who cooks amazing maple pancakes. I assume he is talking about you."

Canada blushes. "He remembers me?"

Atlantis smiles. "I know he wasn't talking about England." They both chuckle. Atlantis doesn't know why everyone is so mean to England about his cooking skills. Every time she tries to eat one of his scones, someone would slap it out of her hands. They must be exaggerating about it. His cooking can't be that bad.

Before Atlantis realizes it, they're both standing outside the door to the meeting room.

Canada frowns. His hand lingers over the door knob. "You're going to forget me like everyone else." Poor Canada, all the countries forget about him: including her. She becomes guilty. She looks at him closer to see him fading.

Her eyes widen. _"He's the ghost who 'haunts' the meetings." _Atlantis feels even worse. She has ignored him in every meeting. She blushes as she recalls that she sat on him yesterday. _"He does make a comfortable seat cushion, though." _

Atlantis places her hand on his shoulder. She's determined to make it up to him. "How about we make a bet?"

Canada looks at her, interested. "A bet?"

Atlantis grins. "There's a meeting tomorrow. If I remember your name, you make me some of your famous maple pancakes."

Canada sighs. "We'll see." He opens the door to show America huddling in a corner mumbling "Ghost" repeatedly.

Atlantis grumbles, "We're going to have to drag him out of here."

* * *

The meeting is about to start in a few minutes when Atlantis spots him. She strolls right up to him and whispers in his ear, "Hello Canada, are you ready to make me your maple pancakes."

Canada stares at her in shock. "Y-You remember me?"

Atlantis smiles. "Of course I did." Okay, she did forget his name. It's a good thing she wrote his name on her arm before they parted ways. Atlantis puts her arms behind her back, careful not to let Canada see it. He probably won't make her pancakes if he knew.

* * *

**(1) According to Plato's dialogues, in the beginning of Atlantis, there was one King and seven princes ruling over several areas of Atlantis at the same time. They were the children of Poseidon and a mortal woman called Cleito. She bore five twins. (Ten sons in total.) The sons were demigods. :)**

**To answer ****Marcy Charli Zara****,**** romance is not the main focus of this fic. There might be flirting for humor purposes, but it's not taken seriously by either person. There's no solid pairing in this fic. I'll keep the America/Atlantis pairing in mind, though.**


	9. Where's Kumajiro?

**I don't own Hetalia. I only own Atlantis, Marco, Zale, King Cyril, and Master Lysander. **

Atlantis walks through the snow, wearing her dark purple cloak with white faux fur trimmings. Canada called her the other day and asked if she still had interest in trying his pancakes. (Also asking if she still remembered him.) She, of course, accepted his invitation after reminding him, that yes, she still remembered his name.

Atlantis is proud to say she doesn't need to write his name as often anymore. She did cause some confusion for her maids. They are still wondering why she has a poster with the word 'Canada' in huge bold letters in her bedroom.

It works, though. If she forgets his name at her home, she can look at the poster and remember him.

The Atlantean nearly drools as she day-dreams about how delicious the maple pancakes must be. She couldn't wait to eat it.

Atlantis pauses when she reaches Canada's two-story log cabin. It's a nice simple home isolated in the woods. Canada must love the outdoors very much. She knocks on the door and patiently waits for Canada. She hears a muffled "coming" and some objects being toppled over. The Canadian opens the door, smiling sheepishly. He softly says, "W-Welcome, Atlantis. Are you ready to try my maple pancakes?"

Atlantis smiles. "Hello Canada. I'm very eager to try them." Atlantis walks inside the house and allows Canada to lead her to the kitchen.

Canada happily says, "You still remember me, eh." He mumbles, "One down, several other countries to go." He must mean the only country to _acknowledge _his presence on a daily basis. Russia definitely notices Canada when he sits on the poor Canadian. She can tell by the way he chuckles when Canada tells the Russian he's sitting on him.

There's France and America. France seems to remember Canada once in a while, causing some 'Father-son' bonding time.

America talks to Canada sometimes, although the Canadian is often referred to as 'Canadia.' Once in a while, America will discuss a memory about Canada, but he won't remember that it's Canada he's remembering.

As for the other countries, Canada is usually mistaken for America. Because of it, Canada gets an earful from angry countries wanting to yell at America for various reasons. Atlantis is guilty of mistaking Canada for America, too. She still does it sometimes. She manages to catch herself from calling him America at the last-minute.

Atlantis says, "Of course I still remember you. How can I forget a sweet and thoughtful man?" From the disgusting men she's encountering when she visits outside her country, it's refreshing to meet a good man. She enjoys the company of the other country personifications as well, but Canada is one of the calmer countries who don't get into fights.

Canada blushes. "Thank you. You're so nice." His eyes widen as he stares at her. Canada stutters, "D-Did you really walk all the way here in that light cloak?" Now that Atlantis thinks about it, to Canada, it seems strange to see someone wearing light clothes when it's snowing.

If it was a blizzard, she would have considered wearing a snow jacket. Although there are times people force her to wear a suitable jacket in icy climates. For instance, when she went to the ice and snow festival in China her Atlantean teammates convinced her to wear a snow jacket. They said it is unnatural for people to walk around the snow in light clothing. They didn't want to attract unwanted attention and concern for her 'health.'

She smiles. "Do not worry. I'm not cold."

Canada firmly scolds Atlantis. "You shouldn't go outside in the snow without a warm snow jacket." Atlantis raises an eyebrow. She didn't expect Canada to be bold enough to scold her. She's learning more interesting things about him.

He changes directions and leads her to the living room. The fireplace is already lit with a steady and warm fire. Canada leads Atlantis to the couch closest to the warmth.

Atlantis sits down on the couch, careful not to disturb the polar bear. The animal is watching a television special on Animal Planet. He stares intently at the screen, ignoring their presence.

Canada shakes his head. "No, I will. You could've frozen out there. You need to be more responsible." No one has ever shown concern about her walking out in the snow with only a light cloak. It's normal in Atlantis to see some water elementals-in-training walking in icy cold waters. They're being supervised so it's fine.

"Please stay here. I'll go get you a blanket." Canada heads upstairs, leaving Atlantis alone with the demon fur ball. She's glad he's not attacking her. The television makes a good distraction.

The cold doesn't bother her that much: she's used to it. When she was a young country learning how to use her element, her master would make her stand in a freezing cold river. During the summer, he used his powers to keep the water at a constant cold temperature. The water in Atlantis during summer is pretty warm because of the Mediterranean Sea.

Atlantis stares deeply into the fire. The fire warms her body quickly. She recalls a memory from many centuries ago.

_Chibi Atlantis shivers as she watches Master Lysander sitting on a rock and sipping his cup of warm milk. She can't believe he's forcing her to stand in this cold river. He calls it 'training.' _

_The Atlantean whimpers, "I thought you are going to teach me the water claw technique?" She doubts she's going to learn how to form water claws around her hands by standing in the river doing nothing. _

_Master Lysander sighs. He sets the cup on a smooth part of the rock. He glides his finger in the air in a wave-like motion, causing the water around chibi Atlantis to splash in accordance to his fingers movement. Chibi Atlantis squeaks as she tries to avoid the mini waves._

_He says, "Get used to the cold, little one. It'll help you learn how to make ice easier when I start those lessons."_

_Chibi Atlantis whines, "I don't want to master ice. I want to master water!" Ice is too hard for her. She sees no point in mastering something she sees as pointless. She knows she's not going to use ice to fight any time soon. In her opinion, water is way stronger than ice._

_Master Lysander paces back and forth. "It is a tradition for every Master Water elemental to have mastery over their sub element ice. Without it, the elemental does not deserve the title of Master." He looks at her softly. "Do you understand, Atlantis?" _

_Atlantis nods. She's bored of hearing his lecture. She wants to learn the water claw technique already so she can fight like the other amazing soldiers in the Atlantean army. The few water elementals in the army can even run on water! It's a mystery to her on how they do that. She grumbles under her breath, "Old geezer." _

_Master Lysander snaps. "It isn't proper for a young lady to say such rude things. I'll wash your filthy mouth clean." He snatches her by her robe and keeps a firm grip on it. She's lifted into the air and she struggles, but it only makes him angrier. "If you even think of cursing, I'll give you a spanking of a life time!"_

_There's no way she wants to be spanked by him. He spanks her butt so hard that she won't be able to sit on it for the rest of the day. His infamous nickname among his other students is Master Spanksander. _

_Atlantis screams, "Greece, save me!" _

Atlantis smiles fondly. Even though she was a little rude to her master at times, she still looked up to him. Her younger self wanted to become a great and powerful Master water elemental like him.

Master Lysander always spanked her whenever she repeated curse words she overheard from adults' conversations. Atlantis found a loophole. He never said she couldn't curse in her mind. This habit has stuck to her till this day. She rarely curses out loud. Maybe she will slip curses in Wi-Fi battles in Black Ops. Any other situation is a big no-no.

It took a while for Atlantis to appreciate her sub element ice. She didn't know at the time was that the soldiers were able to run on the water because they formed ice under their feet with each step they took. The solider would make the ice immediately melt the moment he lifted his foot to take the next step.

It would seem they're running on water, but they're really freezing small parts of the water as they ran.

Atlantis hugs the pillow left on the couch. She squeezes it hard. The memory is bittersweet. _"I ruined our friendship. It's highly likely he hates me." _Atlantis misses Greece. She remembers they used to be best friends when they were children. They had so many fun adventures from Atlantis rescuing him from evil sirens to ruining their innocence by their curiosity of the Aphrodite temples.

She chuckles. "I learned why men were so eager to go to that church." From what she can recall from her memories -and some witness accounts- before the sinking of Atlantis, she became a huge jerk. Maybe if she didn't change for the worse, Greece and she would still be friends when her country was rediscovered by Italy.

Atlantis drowns in her sorrows. _"I don't know if I can ever make it up to him." _Atlantis is brought out of her thoughts by someone poking her. She sees the polar bear looking at her with slightly narrowed eyes.

The polar bear says, "You're not here to attack what's-his-face, are you."

Atlantis forces a smile on her face. "No, I'm not. Your owner's name is Canada, by the way." She can't believe Canada's own pet doesn't even remember his name after all this time. Then again, he doesn't remember the polar bear's name.

Now that Atlantis thinks about it, she doesn't know the polar bear's name. She refers to him as the demon fur ball. Atlantis slowly removes her hands from the pillow, wary of making sharp movements. She doesn't want to startle the animal.

Atlantis keeps eye contact with the polar bear. "My name is Atlantis. May I ask what your name is?"

The polar bear relaxes and gets more comfortable in his seat. "I'm Kumajiro." He points his paw at her. "If you ever attack my food provider again, I won't hesitate to bite you."

"Deal and I told you his name is Canada."

"Who?"

Atlantis sighs. Kumajiro can't remember Canada's name, but he remembers Canada feeds him. At the very least he knows who provides him food.

Kumajiro turns his attention back to the television. It's showing a documentary of polar bears drowning because of the lack of ice floating around. She thinks it's a bad idea for Kumajiro to watch his kind dying on television. It might cause depression.

Atlantis reaches for the remote. "I don't think it's a good idea to watch this…." She stops from the glare Kumajiro is giving her. She doesn't want to risk being bitten, so she slowly scoots to the other side of the couch.

He takes the remote and places it on his lap. He growls, "No one interrupts my show."

They both sit in an awkward silence. Atlantis, bored, decides to watch the documentary. The camera focuses in on an adult polar bear struggling to continue swimming; looking for floating ice so it can rest after hunting for a long time.

The narrator solemnly says, "Because of global warming, there is less ice than ever before…."

Canada arrives with a blanket and a plate of pancakes. He wraps the blanket around her and hands her the plate. Atlantis says, "Thank you."

Atlantis takes a bite of her maple pancakes. She grins. It tastes like ambrosia for the gods. It's so delicious, she's thinking of importing some maple trees to her country. "I love it. Did you make this yourself?"

Canada rubs the back of his head. "Yes, I made it from scratch." They end the small talk in a comfortable silence. Atlantis eats her maple pancakes peacefully while Canada watches the documentary with Kumajiro. Atlantis finishes her breakfast with a satisfied hum.

They chat for a while before she says she has to leave. Canada hands her a jacket she can borrow. The white jacket is bulky and has the Canadian red maple leaf on it. Atlantis smiles and puts on the jacket.

Atlantis says, "Goodbye Canada. It was a pleasure having breakfast with you this morning." She looks to Kumajiro. "It was….nice seeing you again Kumajiro." Even though Kumajiro ignored her most of the time, she thinks it's polite to say goodbye to him.

Kumajiro doesn't acknowledge her goodbye. He's staring intently at the television showing a polar bear taking care of her cubs.

* * *

_One Week Later….._

Atlantis lurks in a dark ally in her dark purple cloak, her hood obscuring her fox mask. Clinging on the emergency escape ladder, she slips out her xiphos from the inner pocket of her cloak. She silently eyes her prey, a fat man in Greek robes, as he hurriedly sneaks through the murky puddles.

Once the man passes Atlantis, she leaps and lands behind him with little noise. She brings his back to her and brings her xiphos to his neck. The sword's leaf-shaped blade applies pressure, but not enough to draw blood. The man whimpers, "Please d-do not kill me."

Atlantis whispers, "Say hello to Hades for me."

"Cuuuuuuuut!"

Atlantis and the man back away from each other with relief. Atlantis removes her mask with a look of annoyance. She slightly glares at the director. "Why am I wearing a mask and a cloak? The assassins of ancient times did not wear this in broad daylight, let alone in allies." She should know, she assassinated people at dinner parties by slipping poison into her targets' drinks with her ring's secret compartment.

Atlantis is in Washington with an Atlantean film crew. They want to do a film about assassins roaming a city in ancient times. The film crew has some connections with the royal family and they were able to force her to play the main role of an assassin.

A wavy blond-haired man with a loose ponytail grins at Atlantis. "It's not a documentary, Master Atlantis. This is an action movie." He gives her a thumbs up. "The outfit adds some mystery to your character."

She inwardly sighs. She glances at her fox mask. _"Why do I have a feeling they were inspired by anime?" _It's not like she has anything against anime. She just doesn't want to walk around wearing a mask all day. The water elemental feels like a little girl playing assassin. It's humiliating since actually does assassination jobs once in a while.

Atlantis grimaces. "Why are we not filming in Atlantis? We have plenty of alleyways at home." Atlantis sees it as a waste of time coming all the way to America when they have perfectly nice and clean alleyways. The ones here in America are filthy and creepy. She had to scare away disturbing characters away before they could start filming.

"Most Atlanteans never step foot outside of Atlantis, so why not show some new sites?" Atlantis almost forgot that this movie is for an Atlantean audience only. With King Cyril's permission, they're allowed to film parts of the world outside the country. Although they never mentioned they are going film in America. He would have denied their request if they did.

It's no secret to her citizens of King Cyril's hatred of America, both the country and its human personification. She knows he only approved of the making of this film in order to appease to the Atlanteans. In her opinion, the plan is not going to work, but he won't listen.

Atlantis walks away from the director. She gives a wave. "I'm going to take a break. I'll return in ten minutes." She ignores his pleads to come back as she exits the alley. She's too tired to deal with this crappy film.

Atlantis slips off her uncomfortable pointy shoes and tosses it into a trashcan. She happily goes around barefoot and steps onto the sandy beach near the alley she had exited.

The sand swishes around her feet as she walks, observing the seagulls fighting over food. Her cell phone rings a soft melody. Atlantis reaches into one of the inner pockets of her cloak and takes it out.

Atlantis holds the cell phone to her ear and answers, "Hello, this is Atlantis speaking."

A shaky voice says, "A-Atlantis, it's me Canada."

The Atlantean becomes alarmed by his weak voice. "Is something wrong?"

Canada cries, "It's K-Kuma."

"Do you mean Kumajiro?" Atlantis hopes Kumajiro is not gravely injured or something. Canada would not be able to bear that.

"H-He left a note s-saying he's going to Alaska to save his kind from global w-warming, eh." Canada takes a deep breath on the other line. "I knew I shouldn't have let him watch Animal Planet." Canada breaks down.

Atlantis nearly drops her cell phone. She could hardly believe Kumajiro would run away to save the polar bears. Then again, his entire attention revolved around watching Animal Planet documentaries on his kind drowning throughout her visit.

Atlantis does her best to reassure Canada. "Do not worry Canada, we'll find Kumajiro." She hangs up hastily before Canada could protest. She's going to save his pet.

"_I hear friends help other friends. This must be one of those situations."_

She needs transportation to Alaska quick before Kumajiro harms himself. As she paces in the sand, she looks out to the ocean to see a white whale spouting water from its blowhole. She looks at the whale in shock. "Are you...?"

The whale splashes its tail in confirmation. Atlantis knew the whale looks familiar. It's America's whale friend.

Atlantis cautiously steps towards the whale. "Can I ask you a favor? I need to go to Alaska for a rescue mission. Can you kindly take me there, please?" She's taking this opportunity. This whale may be her only hope to a fast trip to Alaska. She has no time to be picky.

The whale opens its mouth and lets out a bellow. It turns around and splashes it tail. Atlantis says her thanks and climbs aboard the whale. Her bare feet nearly slip from the slippery surface but she manages to get on.

She lays on her stomach with her hands clinging to the whale. Atlantis, face full of determination, says, "Onwards to Alaska!"

* * *

The white whale swims through the thin sheets of ice with Atlantis on lookout. She keeps a sharp eye out for Kumajiro. She knows it's hopeless to search the entire state of Alaska for a small polar bear. She deduced Kumajiro must be somewhere where polar bears roam. Canada is searching on land for Kumajiro while she searches the water.

Atlantis gets into a kneeling position. She brings her feet closer to her body. Even though she may be used to the cold because of her training, it doesn't mean she's completely immune to it, especially her feet.

The Atlantean gasps. She spots Kumajiro struggling to keep his head above the water. Atlantis springs into action.

Atlantis pushes herself from the whale and jumps onto the water, her feet forming a small patch of ice beneath her feet. She sprints on the water to Kumajiro, the ice footprints melting with each step. She yells, "I'm coming Kumajiro."

The moment she's close to Kumajiro, she spreads her arms outwards to form a giant circle of ice. The ice stops inches from his paw. The small polar bear takes a hold of the new land with both his paws. Atlantis helps him onto the ice and pulls him into a hug.

She throws a barrage of questions at him. "Are you too cold? Should I wrap you in my cloak? Do you want me to catch some fish for you?" Kumajiro silently allows Atlantis to cuddle him.

Kumajiro looks at her curiously. "You can….make ice?"

Atlantis nods. "It's a secret." Atlantis sees no harm in letting an animal know. It's not like he's going to tell anyone. He can't even remember his owner's name. He doesn't have people to spill the secret too.

Atlantis sets him down on the floating ice patch. Kumajiro looks her in the eyes. "You're going to make stronger ice for the polar bears and rescue them."

Atlantis chuckles. "I'm sorry, I can't help you there. I don't want be eaten by polar bears. Besides, I don't have time to spread ice in such a large area. It'll take hours, or even weeks, to make sturdy ice that'll melt from the strong heat anyway."

Kumajiro narrows his eyes. "If you don't do it, I'll tell what's-his-face you can make ice with magic." It's appears he's not going to let his demand drop. She's not going to surrender to an animal, for Poseidon's sake.

Atlantis laughs darkly. "You wouldn't dare. I can kill you before you can utter a word. Nevertheless, it's not as though he'll believe you." She pulls her xiphos out of her sleeve. Kumajiro's reflection shows on its blade.

Kumajiro stands his ground. "You can't kill me. That one guy will be depressed if you do."

Atlantis curses in her mind. Kumajiro caught onto her bluff. He knows Canada will miss him if he never comes home.

"I'll tell England about your magic. He'll _love _to hear about it."

Atlantis' eye twitches. He struck a nerve. She recalls barely escaping England's interrogation on how her country survived sinking under the sea. He was really adamant about his (somewhat correct) theory about her country using magic to survive. He's right, but she doesn't want him and the other countries to know the truth. He finally gave up when some countries yelled at him to stop harassing her.

Atlantis glares at Kumajiro. "Fine. I'll form some ice patches-"

"No. I want you to restore the icy landscape like it was originally before global warming **and** save stranded polar bears." Kumajiro points his paw across from them to hungry looking polar bears licking their mouths.

Atlantis gulps. The ice is one problem. Because Kumajiro wants her to restore the ice to its original state it'll take a long time to do it. The water is wide open space for miles. It'll tire her out. The polar bears bothers her even more. She doesn't want to end up on their menu. "They'll eat me," she says simply, with a small hint of fear in her voice.

Kumajiro cooly replies, "They won't. I'll tell them not to." Kumajiro lays down on his back and yawns, "Get to work human. Go save the polar bears first. You're doing this until global warming is gone."

Atlantis looks at Kumajiro with a look of disbelief. "I have responsibilities. I don't have time to do this that long."

"I'll tell England."

Atlantis huffs. She's being blackmailed by a tiny polar bear. She realizes it is a mistake to use her gift in front of Kumajiro. She won't be doing it around the countries' pets anymore. She uses her cloak's hood to hide her face from view. "Let's get started."

* * *

Atlantis keeps her head slump on the table, exhausted. She ignores the bickering countries in the meeting room. She's too tired to listen to their usual useless bullshit today.

Kumajiro has been working her to near death. She's been freezing former sea ice hunting grounds for the polar bears. As well as making ice floats in the surrounding area, in case a drowning polar bear needs to find land, fast. Kumajiro is keeping his promise of the polar bears not trying to eat her. Although they like to eye her like she's their future dinner.

Atlantis feels a pat on her shoulder. She sluggishly lifts her head to see Canada looking worriedly at her. Canada asks with concern in his voice, "Did you sleep well last night, Atlantis?"

Atlantis smiles tiredly. "I'm fine. I had a huge pile of paperwork, that's all." She was really doing Kumajiro's demands. He's making her spend all her free time in Alaska.

Canada sighs. "Take better care of yourself. First walking around in the snow in a cloak and now this. You'll get sick or worse." Canada hugs Kumajiro. "Thanks for helping me look for Kumajiro. He came home eventually." Kumajiro gives her a small smirk. Atlanits glares at him. They engage in a stare down, to the confusion of Canada.

Kumajiro and her came to a decision to pretend she didn't find him drowning. The story goes that Kumajiro came home after the failure to save his kind. They need to keep Canada out of the loop since Atlantis didn't feel at the time to answer questions detailing about Kumajiro's quest.

Canada coughs, "Why are you glaring at Kumajiro?"

Atlantis drops her glare and replaces it with a smile. "Oh, it's nothing."

Canada looks he's about to say something, but America steps in between them. America laughs, "Who are ya talking to Atlantis? There's no one there." Before she can respond, America interrupts. "You'll never guess what I have."

Atlantis raises an eyebrow. "What is it?"

America grins. "Evidence that super heroes can be solutions to the world's problems." Atlantis shakes her head.

"America, super heroes are fictional."

America pays no attention to her statement. The American gets to the front of the room and inserts the DVD into the television. America announces, "Everyone pay attention. My super hero solution can work to stop global warming."

England snorts. "Your ideas are ridicules. Sit down."

America plays the DVD. "Watch and learn old man." He takes a seat next to an angry England.

England yells, "You git-"

The countries in the room shush him.

The video plays a woman wearing a purple cloak standing with polar bears, including Kumajiro, on a sheet of ice. The floating ice is being pushed by a white whale. The woman's hood obscures her face, leaving her identity a mystery.

Atlantis pales. She feels faint as she tightens her hold on the table.

America exclaims, "A mysterious super hero is going around saving polar bears in Alaska. A documentary crew caught her on tape as she helps drowning polar bears onto the floating ice." America pauses the video at a scene of a close up view of her hood with the remote.

America hold out his hand to England. "You owe me a thousand bucks, dude. My super hero idea totally works."

England grudgingly hands over the bundles of cash. "It only works on a small scale."

Canada whispers, "The cloak seems familiar. I feel I've seen it somewhere."

Atlantis is trying to keep her composure. She doesn't want Canada to remember her wearing the cloak. When she makes it home, she's going to burn it so she won't accidentally wear it around any of the countries.

Somewhere in the room, a country shouts, "Scientists are saying there's been a rapid increase of ice in Alaska. Conspiracy theorists say the woman on the video is a goddess who's responsible for it."

Canada asks, "What do you think about her Atlantis?"

Atlantis regains her composure. She mustn't let the countries suspect she knows anything. Atlantis speaks with confidence in her voice. "I think she's crazy. She endangered her life. She could've been eaten by those polar bears."

Canada agrees. "Polar bears are aggressive when they're hungry." Atlantis inwardly lets out a breath of relief.

Atlantis is going to have to be more careful when she's in Alaska doing her tasks. She doesn't want to be caught again. She's going to have to do something to make the video appear to be a hoax.

Atlantis' cell phone rings. She answers it with a tired "Hello?"

The director exictedly says, "We're changing track. We're going to use your stunt in Alaska to change the movie's direction to assassins saving polar bears in Alaska." Atlantis thinks this is a stupid idea. She wonders who will watch a movie like that. Something concerns her more, though.

She whispers into her cell phone. "How did you-"

The director laughs. "Everyone knows it was you. I'll send you your script later, ciao~" He hangs up.

Atlantis slams her head on the table. _"By everyone, he must be including my boss. He's going to throw me into the kraken pit, I just know it." _Atlantis, very stressed from Kumajiro's work and various other factors, falls into uncounsisness.

Canada shakes her shoulders. "Atlantis, wake up!" China, who is sitting next to Altantis, reacts fast. He checks her pulse.

China says to himself, "She fainted, aru."

Canada wonders what the person said on the phone to make her faint like that.

* * *

**The main weapon of the Greeks is the spear. After the spear had been thrown or lost in battle, swords were then engaged to finish the battle.** **The sword of the ancient Greek military was the xiphos. It is a straight, double-edged, and leaf-shaped sword. The length is generally around 25.6 inches. **

**Atlantis' sword is an exception. It's shorter than the average xiphos. It's 10 inches. Atlanteans nick named it a mini xiphos.**

**Atlantis has the title of master because she mastered her element. That's why Atlanteans refer her as Master Atlantis.**

**Polar bears are opportunistic eaters. They will even eat humans if it means they can survive. **


End file.
